A Hint of Magic
by Misty121416
Summary: "What if... What is there was a force of some sort... Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desire to come true." Rated T for language, and Romance in later chapters. OCxReader's choice
1. Prologue

**Summery: "What if… What if there was a force of some sort… A force that allowed your deepest desire to become true…"**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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Marrissa Charlotte Fray, sometimes know as Marry, seemed to be a typical teenager. _Seemed _being the keyword in that sentence.

At a glance, she was just your average girl, born and raised in a small, isolated place by the name "Raynebow Valley". She had golden hair with emerald-green eyes, earrings along her ears; five on her left ear, four on her right to be exact. Not too strange.

Sure, she lost her parents in an accident when she was eleven, but many children lost family, as harsh as that may sound, but little ol' Marry has coped after many years, living with her Aunt Natalia. As a matter a fact, by the time she turned fifteen, Marrissa had started working on a farm that her father started a few months before his death.

Still nothing unusual.

For some odd reason, Marry also had an obsession with the small, crimson fruit we like to call "cherries". She, well, she calls them "heaven."

You're probably wanting me to get to the point by now huh? Well, before that, there's still one characteristic left; one a tad stranger.

For some reason, cats had a tendency to follow Marrissa around. Whether it be while she worked, walked, shopped, or anything else, she almost always had one of the small, furry creatures following her around or clinging onto her somehow.

That was a little weird.

You know what else is strange? Well, it started a while ago. Marry had once been reading the newspaper, something only created to pass time in her mind, when an article caught her eye.

"_What if there was something that could make your wishes come true?"_

Since that time, Marry had been snooping around, trying to find some more information on this specific topic. Countless nights filled with a worried Auntie Natalia, explosions sounding from the basement, and multiple ideas only to come out negative. It's a surprise Marry hadn't somehow killed herself yet.

Though these dead ends wouldn't stop her. She would create the potion, no matter what. Even if it was the last thing she did, she would figure it out, or die trying.

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**A/n:**** Nyaaa, sorry for the suck-tastic writing! It's been a **_**very**_** long time since I've written in third person O.e Also, chapter will be much longer. This prologue was mainly for the exposition, and so you all would come to know who Marrissa is, and not wonder why some random girl whom no one has heard of shows up.**

**But there's a few little things I wanna explain; for example, the whole "Raynebow Valley." Some of you may be thinking something like "Is that the name of one of the islands in an upcoming game?" or something similar, but the answer is **_**no**_**. Raynebow Valley is originally the name for a Valley in a Harvest Moon roleplay I own on Gaiaonline. So yes, I do have permission to use it, considering my friend gave it to me a while back when I remade the roleplay and built the Valley into specific sections.**

**Second of all, you may think "Well, if it's an original setting, this must have original characters too!" Again, no. That would completely take away the point of this being a **_**fanfiction**_**. What I have decided to do is this; all the bachelors people have suggested on multiple websites will be on the island, as well as their rival partners, and a few random other characters whom I want to drag in. I'm totally open for more suggestions though. I currently have Gill, Chase, Julius, Luke, Gray, Doctor Trent, Kai, and Skye. Feel free to suggest any others.**

**Until next time then!**


	2. Chapter One

**Summery: "What if… What if there was a force of some sort… Some kind of _potion_ that allowed your deepest desire to become true…"**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunatly, never own Harvest Moon.**

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"Cha-a-ase!" a voice nagged from the kitchen's door frame. The oak kitchen door frame of Rayne Café to be more specific.

Shoulder's tensing slightly, a violet eyed boy turned around, an egg shell broken in his hands, its content flowing down his muscular forearms. "What do you want _now_?" he growled, eyes slanting into a glare, gliding over to the sink to wash the egg's guts from his arms.

"I'm bored!" the blonde farmer chirped, leaning against a counter in said kitchen. "Amuse me," she commanded, grinning as she crossed her arms.

This, well, this was an every day thing. For the first while, out peach-haired chef just let it slide, finding something or other for the girl so she wouldn't be "bored". Really, after a week of this routine, he had figured out that Marrissa being "bored" meant that she wanted to annoy someone. Usually him, or one of the few other people on the small island.

Not like there were many people that lived in Raynebow Valley one way or another. Really, there was only Marrissa who lived with her Aunt on her ranch, but they lived in a sub-district basically all to themselves.

In the actual town though, there was Chase, the cook, along with Maya and Kathy who were the waitresses with Hayden as the owner of the Café-by-day, Bar-by-night. Well, Selena was there too, but only as a dancer for the Diner/Bar. During the day, you could find her in random places, practicing her dancing. The Library was owned by Mary, a quiet girl who lived in the back area of the library, separated from the part with all the books of course. The Inn is the largest building of the Valley, owned by Natalia alone. Sometimes she lived with her niece, but she was often found by her precious Inn. Elli, a sweet girl, owned the Bakery, but sometimes helped Doctor Trent at the Clinic. Isabella worked at the Candy Shoppe, and, no surprise, Maya was probably her most regular customer. Actually, Popuri showed up there quite often as well, but that's beside the point. Gill and his father, the mayor, live there as well. Gill is mainly doing all his father's work at the Town Hall in Rayne Square, a part of town slightly raised. Hamilton on the other hand, was always making excuses to loaf around.

That makes fourteen people in all, if you count Popuri. So far at least. Up in the Raynedrop Mines, the General Store can be found, where Karen, one of the local alcoholics, and her parents work. There's also the Black Smith's, where anti-social Gray works, being nagged by his grandfather Saibara 24/7. Julius, a very… _feminine_ man works in the connecting shop, the Jewelers. Considering Juli always needs something or other from the Smithy, it comes in handy. Across from that in the district, there's Luna and her sister Candace, along with their Granny Shelly, who work at the Tailors. If you need swimsuits, scarves, runners, or some fashion advice, that's the place to go. Of course, you can also go to Julius, the other fashonista of the Valley. Of course, no place can go without the Carpenters where Luke and Bo work as apprentices under Luke's daddy, Dale. Beside them is Ace, a man who's a whiz with tools, which is exactly why he's the local mechanic.

Twenty-seven. A very small island wouldn't you say? But, I'm not finished; there is indeed a few more villagers.

In the fields by the name of Snowy Day, you can find the Animal Ranch and another farm where Marrissa buys all the livestock and seeds. Here, there lives Popuri with her brother Rick, who has a "thing" against Kai. Their sickly mother also lives with them on the ranch. A silver haired cowboy by the name Vaughn comes every weekend for animal shipments, and lemme tell you now, don't get on his bad side. You can see little Taylor with his mother Ruth at the veggie and fruit farm. Taylor's father and sister, Craig and Annissa, left the Valley a few seasons ago to explore the world. And believe it or not, a blond, red-eyed witch along with a tanned, sandy haired wizard live on the outskirt of this district.

Now, everyone needs a little entertainment in their lives. Sure, there's Selena, but every dancer needs a singer. Well, not really, but that doesn't stop ex-pop-star Lanna from performing. Denny and Kai are the ones who catch the fish in the Valley, but Lanna helps sometimes. Though no matter what, the two fishermen never admit to being related, even though they look completely alike… Anyways, for villagers without jobs that lurk around the Valley, there's Colleen and Jake, Maya's parents, Pierre, the one who draws the line between "good food" and "bad food". Will, a prince-like boy who has taken a brake from the hectic, rich life he's used to. At night, a sweet-talking thief comes around, always hanging around the Harvest Goddess's Spring when he isn't off stealing something.

All of these people lived scattered throughout the town, Raynedrop Mine district, or Snowy Day district. Marrissa, like I said, lives all by her lonesome in the Starry-Falls district where a roaring waterfall lies in the east. The only districts without someone's home would be the Dawn Dunes, and Twilight Woods and Midnight Mountain. Yes, almost everyone on the island had noticed the whole sky-themed names, but you can blame Hamilton. It's better than something silly like _Waffle Town_, or something like that.

Forty villagers within the whole Valley. It could be worse, but that still isn't many, especially compared to other places. Though, everyone has learned to cope with it.

Anyways, back to Chase and Marrissa (finally).

"Marrissa, after all these seasons, you should know what I send you off to do," the peach haired boy growled, a glare still in his eyes as he looked at the farmer who stood there oh-so-casually.

The blonde girl's emerald eyes went wide as she filled them with fake innocence, "What are you talking about Chasey-kins?"

Chase's eye twitched at the name before he pointed to the door. "Out. Now. Never call me that again."

Marry laughed lightly, pushing off the counter with her hands, grabbing Chase's collar, bringing her face very close to his. Originally, this brought a bright wave of red colour into his cheeks, but after all this time, he only got a small flush of pink, and he usually averted his eyes to the roof. "C'mon Chase, don't be like that," she whispered, enjoying every second of his blush.

"Fine, but get off me," he growled, pushing her a slight bit so he could have his space. See, Chase believed in the whole "bubble" theory. He did not like people in his "bubble" unless invited. Sighing, Chase dried his hands on a white dish-towel, stuffing it into the pocket of his apron. "Grab an apron and wash your hands before anything. I'll teach you how to make chocolate chip cookies."

"But I know how to make those," the pale girl retorted, using the same comment she always did when Chase said he would teach her how to make something.

Of course, he replied the same way he usually did with his signature grin, "Yeah, but you don't know how to make them as good as the ones I bake."

**xXxXx**

Marrissa… Well, she has a tendency to cause a little mischief, especially when it's related to Chase or any of her other friends at that.

But she could tell you herself that the best time to fool around was when Chase was cooking. When he was helping her cook, it was just that much better.

"Okay, now add some flour," Chase ordered, turning his back on the girl for only a moment to find the electrical mixer.

Grinning, Marry got the bag of flour, scooping out as much she could cup in her hands without spilling _too _much. As soon as she could see his violet eyes lock with hers, the girl threw the white powder into Chase's face, causing it to do two things. One, it made a huge cloud of white in the kitchen. Two, it made Chase as white as a ghost. A ghost that wasn't pleased when he wiped the flour away from his eyes that looked at her in a very displeased manner.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that," he threatened, a grin of his own curling on his lips, though his was a tad more… Evil. Chase, having bigger hands than Marry, scooped up enough flour that must have been at least twice of what Marry had scooped up. Which meant that the cloud of flour when Chase threw it was twice as big, and covered more of Marrissa's body than what had covered Chase. Then again, one way or another, it would have covered more of her petite size considering she was indeed _much _smaller.

When the blonde threw the flour, Chase had only gotten it in his face, part of his hair and a semi-oval that went about mid-way to either shoulder and just below his collar bone. When the peach-haired boy threw it, it covered Marrissa's full head, her neck, shoulders, upper arms and down to the bottom of her shirt.

Let's just say white flour shows up _very_ well on a black t-shirt.

Of course, both of their backs were unmarked by the powder, which just made a beautiful inspiration for both of them.

By the end of their little feud, both the farmer and the chef were covered head-to-toe, front-to-back in flour. The powder covered every surface in the kitchen, and somehow, some of it managed to get on the roof. It wasn't a surprise there was a puddle of flour on the ground of course.

"Well, that was fun. See ya later Chase!" Marrissa grinned, holding her hand up in a good-bye gesture. Oh, it wasn't surprising that she was deciding to leave now, not at all considering a fuming Hayden was stalking over to the kitchen.

"Oh, no you don't," the flour-clad boy said, grabbing Marry's arm. "One, we still haven't finished the cookies. Two, the kitchen is a mess. Three, I'm not an idiot; I see Hayden coming."

"Crumbs…" Marrissa grumbled, snapping her fingers in a dramatic way. "I was hoping I could get away with it."

"Crumbs? No one says that in these days," Chase laughed, shaking his head.

"They also don't say 'these days' when they're only nineteen," she shot back, grinning before a freezing chill ran down her spine. She knew who was behind her before turning, but did it anyways, slowly, not to mention in a very tense manner. "Hi Hayden… How are you on this beautiful day…?"

"Sweet talk won't get you out of this one," he growled, brows furrowed in an obviously annoyed manner.

"But… But Hayden…" she whimpered, eyes filling with fake tears. Yes, she was quite talented at faking her emotions, but she's had years to practice, ever since her parent's death. Of course, this little talent came in handy, especially around the adults.

Hayden's eyes softened as he looked into her emerald ones, and sighed, "Fine, go home and wash yourself up."

The tears vanished in and instant as Marrissa squealed slightly, giving the Café/Bar owner a giant hug. "Thank you!" With that, the girl trotted to the exit, turning to see Hayden's back to her. Taking the obvious choice, she shuffled into Chase's line of view, and one she knew for sure that he had seen her, she took her index fingers, pulled her mouth to the side and stuck her tongue out at the boy. Once she opened her eyes, a pair of blazing violet ones were staring back at her. They basically said "Watch your back, you'll pay for this".

Marry just grinned, waved and went outside, laughing as the door shut behind her securely. "Hmmm… What to do now…" she said to herself, tapping a finger to her chin before she remembered the fact she was covered in flour.

Oh, in most cases, she would sneak around and try to scare people by pretending to be a ghost. Though, luckily, the white powder was actually starting to get quite uncomfortable, and Marry just wouldn't have as much fun unless she was as comfortable as she could be. Shrugging slightly, the girl walked casually to her farm, whistling some kind of tune as people turned to stare at her. After they had realized it was Marry, most of them just shook their heads and laughed.

Ah, another average day in the life of Marrissa Fray.

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**A/n:**** Well, that took a while to type. It is now 12:04 AM, and I am incredibly tired. Yay! Okay, first off, **_**no, Marry may not end up with Chase**_**. It's a possibility, but what I'm planning on doing is making a chapter kind of like this with all the bachelors on the island, then get all you guys to vote on a poll on my deviantART. **

**SO, I have Chase's done, but I still have to do one for Trent, Gill, Gray, Julius, Luke, Rick, Vaughn, Gale, Kai, Denny, Will and Skye. Wow, that means I have at least twelve or so chapters to go until the voting… I'll probably be a lazy ass and stick some of them together in the same chapter xD**

**Oh, and by the way, here are a few notes; first of all, Raynebow Valley, Farmer Marrissa, Mechanic Ace and Inn-Keeper Natalia are mine. Isabella, the Candy Shoppe owner, belongs to a friend of mine.**

**Uh… I think that's it for now, so, see ya guys next time!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary: "What if… What if there was a force of sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desire to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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"Bella!" Marrissa grinned, waving as she swung the door to the Candy Shoppe open, causing the bell over the door to ring like crazy.

"Marry! Don't scare me like that!" Bella scolded, clutching her shirt, chocolate brown eyes wide and her breathing a tad deeper than usual. On her desk, multiple papers were scattered about, one of them with half of the brunette's signature that went down the page in a ragged line.

"Hehe, sorry," the blonde grinned, putting her hand up and winking. "Anyways, what cha doin'?"

"Well, I was doing some paper wo-"

"Great, good to know you're free. I gotta go ask Luke to patch up my barn; the hurricane last week kinda put a huge hole in it…"

The younger girl just looked at Marrissa in a dumbfounded manner, jaw slightly a gap, "And you choose to fix it now…?"

"Hey, do you wanna see Bo or not?" she smirked, walking over to the now blushing Bella before she yanked her up. Oh, she heard the question, just didn't feel like answering it.

"… Fine. But I really have to get this paper work done soon."

"You have plenty of time for that later! Oh, and I'm grabbing something for Ace; I'll visit him while you and Bo do your 'thing'."

"What 'thing'? Bo and I are just friends!" Isabella retorted, glaring at her rambunctious friend.

"Sure, sure, that's what they all say," Marry grinned, grabbing two cherry suckers from one of the many racks of candy. "I'll pay you for these later."

Ignoring her first comment, the brunette's eye brows furrowed slightly, "Why are you getting two?"

"One for me, one for Ace," she explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But he hates anything that tastes like cherries…"

"I know, that's the point," she snickered, grabbing Bella's hand and dragging her up to the Raynedrop Mine District.

**xXxXx**

The two walked up the trail to the mining district, caught in some kind of conversation about rabbits. Honestly, you learn not to ask about these things if it involves Marrissa.

Noticing something a deep navy from the corner of her eye, Marry grinned, turning towards the colour and waved. "Luke!" she grinned, running up behind the much taller boy and jumping on his back, causing Bella to cross her arms, sigh and chuckle slightly at the blonde.

"Woah!" the cat-eyed boy exclaimed, surprised by the sudden weight on his back; not like she was heavy or anything, but any person has more mass than air. "Hey Marry," he grinned, turning his head to look at the girl with the beaming smile who was still perched on his back. "What can I do for ya?"

"During last week's storm, my barn quite beat up. I need the help of a particular, awesome carpenter."

"What? Who? No one's more awesome then me! I'll go prove it to them! Where is he? Why I outta-" Luke growled, obviously not understanding the farmer had been referring to him.

"Luke." She said his name the way someone would call an animal's name so they would sit the hell down and be quiet. "I mean you."

"OH! Well, considering I_ am_ as awesome as I am, I can help out an awesome friend!"

Bella just stood there, totally stumped at how some people can be so… Well, Luke-like. Really, he was one of a kind. And thank the Goddess for that, considering Raynebow Valley probably couldn't keep two Lukes under control. Then again, the Valley _did _keep Marry in check, which was almost impossible unless you were Natalia.

A tap on the younger girl's shoulder caused her to jump slightly and whirl around, cheeks pink as she realized it was none other than a boy her own age with light brown hair spiked up, a white bandana around his head and a wash of freckles across his face. "Ah… H-h-hello Bo," she greeted.

Grinning, he nodded, a small blush of his own showing upon his cheeks, "How're you doin' Bella?"

"Um… F-fine.. And yourself?"

"C'mon!" Marrissa groaned, now crouching on the ground between Bo and Isabella's feet as she looked up, Luke mimicking across from the farmer. "Lets see some action!"

"Marrissa" Bella growled, face a bright red as she glared down at the farmer. Bo, on the other hand, was just standing there, looking confused as he looked from Bella, to Luke, to Marry.

Grinning up at the brunette, the blonde held up her right hand in a peace sign. "Okay, I'll leave you guys to it then~ C'mon Luke, let's go bug Ace!" she grinned, standing and patting her leg as she called Luke over, as if he were a dog.

Then again, he basically could be one…

"See ya guys!" Marry grinned, waving frantically when she was a few steps away from them. "Remember to use protection!" And with that, the farmer and the carpenter left an annoyed Bella and a confused Bo.

Bo, being the oblivious person he is, tilted his head to the side, face filled to the brim with confusion. "Protection? What is she talking about? It's not like we're about to do something dangerous…"

**xXxXx**

Marrissa was literally crying from laughing so hard once she stepped into the Mechanic's. "Ah, that was _awesome_!" she laughed, wiping at her eyes, looking up at Luke who was also laughing.

A man sat with bare feet up on a table, reclined in one of those wheel-y chairs that bad guys in movies always turn around in, petting a cat or something, only to say something like "I've been expecting you," which makes everyone assume he's a stalker. That or I have a very vivid imagination while I watch movies…

Anyways, back to the matter at hand. The man had black pants, a red V-neck T-shirt and a magazine of some sort over his face. Hearing the laughing of Luke and Marrissa, the book fell from his face, revealing mussed hair, a mixer of red and brown, with eyes as blue as ice. His skin was pale, and he was obviously in a daze as he looked at his visitors.

"What the hell did you do this time Risa?" he asked, yawning as he stretched back, voice slightly gruff from having just woken up.

"Tch, Ace, you think I did something? Can't a person just laugh with her friends?" Yes, the man in front of the pair was none other than Ace, the local mechanic. It was a miracle he stayed in Raynebow Valley considering he could be so much higher on the work chain with how good he was with tools –wrenches, hammers, blow torches, those kinds of tools you perv!

Anyways, Ace was indeed the local mechanic, but he was also the "big brother" for Isabella and Marrissa. They've all known one another for as long as they can remember, which is the reason why Marrissa only allows kids, Ace and Bella to call her "Risa" when they want to. The reason she detested the name was due to the fact her parents used to call her "Risa" and she did basically anything she could from being reminded of them and the accident.

"Yes, I think you did something, and yes, you can laugh casually with your friends, but considering it's Luke rather than someone else, it means you were or are up to something," he stated bluntly, standing before stretching with cat-like grace.

Speaking of cats, Snow, a white kitten Ace was taking care of, was rubbing against Marrissa's leg, basically begging to get some attention. Smiling, she picked it up, stroking it's white fur. Well, it looks like that now made a part-dog-part-cat-part person and a full fledged kitten hanging out with Marry. Obviously, the dog-cat-person was none other than Luke.

"Cat whore…" Ace mumbled to himself, grinning slightly. "So, what's the catch? Harassing Julius again or something?"

"No, Bella," she admitted, shrugging as she was mainly focused on the creature cradled in her arms.

"I assume she was with Bo, and you were making sexual comments?"

"You know me so well~ And since I know you so well, I brought some candy from Bella's shop for you!" she chimed, pulling the dark sucker from her jean pocket. And yes, it was covered.

"Wha-a-at! Why didn't you get me one? Suckers are awesome!" Luke complained, eyes filled with hurt and childish innocence. Unlike Marry, his eyes were always one-hundred percent sincere.

"I'll get you one next time, okay Luke?" she said, patting his head as if she was an owner telling her dog he could chase the squirrel next time.

"Actually, Luke, you can have that one," Ace said, shrugging. "Knowing that Marrissa is in a mischievous mood at the moment, that sucker is probably cherry."

"Awesome!" Luke grinned, taking the sucker and putting it into his mouth, wrapper and all. Hmm, one of these day I'm gonna have to count how many times he uses the word "awesome" in a day…

"Tch, I really have to teach you how amazing cherries are. I honestly don't think you're human if you don't like them…" she sighed, watching Luke eat the wrapped sucker in amusement, not planning to tell him to take the covering off any time soon.

"Good luck with that. You're been trying the same thing for the seventeen years you've been alive."

"You make me sound so young," she said, sighing as she crossed her arms.

"You are young," the red-head/brunette grinned, crossing his arms.

"You're only two years older!" she retorted, glowering at him.

"Yes, but your maturity is equal to that of a nine-year-old."

Without a comeback, Marrissa just glared at her friend, and sighed. "Whatever. Anyways, I only came to give you the sucker Luke is now eating, and to tell you that you should start looking for a girlfriend sometime Ace. Any girl in the Valley would love to date you, yet you haven't given a second thought to relationships all your life," she said, walking over to him and pecking his cheek the way a sister would to a brother. "I'll see you later."

Marrissa laughed at Luke as he finally figured out to take the wrapping off the sucker, motioning for him to follow her. After all, if she didn't drag him down to her farm now, the barn would never get fixed.

Once the door shut securely, Ace sighed as he leaned against a counter, pulling out some pocky and looking up at the roof. "But I don't want just _any_ girl," he sighed, staring at the door. "The only one who I want to be with is too oblivious to realize it though…"

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**A/n**** Before anything else, I want to thank TheOneAndOnlyBree for being the first reveiwer! Now, onto the actual notes XD**

**Well, this didn't turn out as I expected it too. For one, I meant to make this more focused on Marry and Luke, but it turned out to be more or less an introductory chapter for Ace, Bella, Luke and Bo. OH WELL, I'll have a MarryxLuke scene some other chapterxD**

**Bleh, it turns out that voting for who Marry should end up with on deviantART won't work considering I'm not a premium member, and you have to be to have polls. Goodie… So, I've decided to just put it up on here. It should be on right now, but I'm not positive, so go over there and take a look for my why don't ya ;D**

**Also, reviews are always much appreciated, so feel free to tell me what you think of this story so far :D **

**Well, till next time then! Ciao! **


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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Marrissa sighed, wiping her forehead as she pulled the last weed from her crops. "Nothing like weeding for a good workout she mumbled, walking over to one of her cherry tree, falling backwards against it then sliding down so she was in a sitting position. The sudden motion to the tree caused it to shake, thus cherries falling down onto and around Marry. "Thanks Mister Tree," she grinned, patting it's trunk as she bit into the sweet crimson fruit.

Closing her eyes, Marry ate the fallen cherries. Once she opened them, a small yelp emerged from her lips as she attempted to scramble backwards, but the tree stood in her way. Sighing, the girl clutched the fabric of her shirt over her heart. "For Goddess sake Gill! Don't scare me like that!" she hissed, standing and dusting herself off as the blond boy attempted to hold back a chuckle by coughing.

"Sorry Marrissa," he apologized, bowing slightly as he helped wipe away some dust from her shoulder. "I need some help."

At this, the female's jaw dropped. "You. You as in Gill. Gill, the son of the mayor who hates asking for help. _You_ the-"

"Yes, me, I get it," he growled, holding a hand up to silence her. "Now shut up, and don't let this little favour go to your head. All I need is for someone to plant some new flowers in the square. Some animal tore up the garden, and who better to ask for help then the farmer herself?"

"Hm… Fine, I'll do it. What's in it for me?" she asked, crossing her arms as she tapped her chin in thought.

"The feeling of doing something good for… a friend," Gill replied, blushing slightly as he called himself her friend. "And don't even think about saying that isn't enough; you already agreed to help," he smirked, grabbing the girl's wrist and tugging her toward the town, only pausing to allow her to grab her watering can.

"But what about the seeds?" Marry questioned as they reached the square, causing the flaxen haired boy to freeze, tense, and sigh out in plain annoyance.

"Go buy some," he suggested, sending her one of his infamous glares. Oh no, it's not like he was doing it on purpose; it was a habit. Well, so he says at least. Then again, all the other anti-social or jerk-like guys on the island said that.

Personally, I think its down right blasphemy; look at their sweet and caring side, and you would think they were all bi-polar or something.

"Only if you give me a kiss," Marrissa grinned, puckering her lips slightly.

Oh, she had expected Gill to glare and turn his back on her, but no; instead, he did probably the most surprising thing; he actually did kiss her. Of course, it was only on the cheek, but still!

Blushing brightly, the blue eyed boy gesticulated for her to go buy the seeds, covering his face out of pure embarrassment. Then again, Gill was always unpredictable. Knowing him, he could end up hating Marry the next day; it was unlikely, but totally possible.

Being the oblivious girl she is, Marrissa shrugged it off as him doing her a favour since she was re-planting all the square's flowers. Humming, the girl skipped off to the Snowy Day district, a name not fitting for such a broiling day.

**xXxXx**

"Thanks Ruth!" Marry grinned, waving as she exited the store, multiple bags of flower seeds in her arms. The girl continues to hum as she walked back to town; with her eyes closed. Not a good idea. Within about five steps, she had run straight into someone.

"Oww…" the blonde mumbled, rubbing her nose as she looked up for her now-crouching position. Violet eyes glared down at her, a scowl set into the features of the local animal trader, Vaughn. "Whoops! Sorry!" she apologized, laughing slightly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Watch where you're going next time," he grumbled, holding out his hand for her to take, which she used to help heft herself up onto her feet.

Face set into a small frown, Marrissa crossed her arms. "Well sor-ry for getting in your way, she mumbled, looking at the ground, tensing as she looked in horror at all her –expensive- seeds scattered along the ground. "Arg! Gill's gonna kill me!" she panicked, kneeling down and attempting to sweep the seeds back into the bags.

"There's too many of them…" she whispered to herself in the dawn of realization. "I'll never get them all back, not alone. Not to mention I don't have enough money to pay for some more…"

In the midst of her self-complaining, the silver haired animal-lover was now on his knees, picking the seeds up and letting them fall into one of the coarse bags. "Stop whining already," he grumbled, sparing a quick glance over at the cat-eyed girl.

Marry saw his quick glance, and even though she, for a moment, thought it was her imagination, smiled as she started plucking the seeds from the grassy fields.

"Vaughn?" she whispered, tilting her head slightly to look at him, assuming his grunt meant, "Yes Marry, what can I do for you today? Tee hee~" Okay, he would never say that, but let the girl have fun with her thoughts. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it…" he mumbled, a small curve to the corners of his mouth.

**xXxXx**

Sighing, Marrissa collapsed on her bed, her muscles instantly relaxing. "I'm never doing a favour for Gill again; it's too much work," she mumbled, yawning.

Standing, the farmer walked into her bathroom, changing into a pale-green, large silk shirt that was too long on her arms, the bottom falling to about mid-thigh. She left only the first two buttons undone as she brushed her hair, teeth and glanced at the time. "Ick, it's only nine? That's really early for me… I don't wanna end up waking up at like five or something; six AM is bad enough…"

Shrugging off the though, Marry stalked back into her room, a small piece of paper catching her eye as she stopped just a few feet away from her bed. Now for the decision of a lifetime; look at the paper, or ignore it and go to sleep? She was really starting to lean to the latter, but curiosity overcame her, causing her hand to reach out, grab and read that paper.

_**Dear Maiden,**_

_**At 11:oo tonight, I will grant you with my presence in order to steal your golden prize.**_

_**-Phantom Thief Skye**_

Marrissa stared at the paper, a single eye brow arched, a talent she recently learned from Chase. Practice makes perfect after all. "Phantom Thief Skye? How cheesy can you get?" she asked, laughing as she threw the note behind her, falling on her . _"I wonder what the 'golden prize is supposed to be though…" _she thought, a quick image forming in her mind, but blocked her sleep.

**xXxXx**

_**Crash**_

Marrissa jumped up, her legs swinging off the bed as she looked around furiously, eyes passing over the silver haired man who stood in the middle of her room, only to return. Eyes wide, the girl smacked her cheeks, convinced it was a dream, but realized that wasn't the case when she re-opened her eyes. "Wh-who the hell are you, and why the hell are you in my house?" she questioned, voice slightly hysteric. Then again, who wouldn't be panicked when some stranger was standing in the middle of the person's room?

"Ah, but my lovely maiden, I already told you in my note," she said smoothly, wiggling the piece of paper in his hand. "I'm positive you read it considering it was lo longer where I placed it."

Shivering, the blonde girl wrapped the blankets tighter around her. "What. Do. You. _Want_?" she hissed, eyes now glazed with tears.

Taken aback by Marrissa's tears, the silver haired fellow took a step back, hands up with his eyes a little wide. "Princess, don't cry, I won't hurt you," he cooed, slowly moving towards Marrissa, who in return tried going farther back, only to have her back pressed against the wall. Her tear-tinted glare stayed locked on his eyes before the man finally sighed and stopped moving, crossing his arms.

"I'm here f or your golden necklace. It'll pay a pretty penny," he explained, holding up the little trinket.

Marry's eyes widened as she grasped for her neck, breath catching in her throat when she realized her mother's gift was no longer there. "You… You better give that back," she growled in a threatening tone, slowly slipping off the bed as she walked toward the thief who stood motionless, a small grin playing on his lips.

"That's better," he smirked, holding the golden piece of jewelry high above her head. "Of course, if you want it back, you'll have to steal it from me."

Marrissa's cat-like eyes were narrowed in a glare, looking straight into his eyes before she attempted to snatch the necklace, only for the man to move it to the other side, causing her hands to end up empty. "Well, you can at least tell me your name," she said, attempting to grab the trinket once more, ending up empty-handed once more.

"Tch, didn't you see on the note? I am Skye, the phantom thief," he replied, grinning slightly at the little game he was playing with the farmer.

"Don't you think putting 'phantom thief' as your title make you seem a little… I dunno, girly? Not to mention even though you're obviously a man, you're much prettier than many woman."

At this, Skye laughed, shaking his head. "Ah, but my dear, it adds some mystery, does it not?"

"No, not really," she stated bluntly.

At this, the turquoise eyed man winced, his grin turning into a small frown. "Well, I guess this is enough playing around. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to sell," he said, holding up the golden necklace, admiration of the trinket obvious in his gaze. He looked over, grinning slightly, "I'll give you one more chance; if you can get this away from me, I'll leave you alone. For a while at least."

"You swear it?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," he smiled, nodding slightly as he held the necklace over his own head.

Grinning, Marrissa nodded. "Good," she grinned, causing Skye to get slightly confused; she hadn't been able to retrieve her necklace before, so what was with the sudden confidence? Oh, he defiantly found out in the most suprising way possible.

Marry grabbed the front of Skye's shirt, her left hand around his neck as she pressed her lips against his, eyes squeezed shut. Taken aback, Skye froze under the sudden kis, eyes wide as he stood frozen, not thinking to react when Marrissa's hand shot out for the necklace, the golden metal cool in her hand. Slightly blushing, Marry pulled away from Skye, leaving him speechless and frozen in place. "I suggest you leave," she whispered, pointing at the door.

The silver haired thief nodded silently, turning his back to walk to the door, pausing as his hand was on the cold brass of the door knob, only stopping to turn around, grin and say, "This won't be our last meeting Marrissa Fray, it most defiantly wont."

As the door shut quietly behind the feminine man, Marry started shaking, her eyes wide as her legs gave out under her once she got to the bed. "That was… Strange…" she mumbled, sighing slightly as she slipped under her blankets, staring at her ceiling, thoughts going around her head. The one that bugged her most was, _"How did he know my name…?"_

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**A/n:**** Before you say anything, I **_**really**_** didn't like this chapter; just the way I wrote it I guess. The only part I think is partially decent would be the Skye scene… I guess it was more or less another introductory chapter, but for Gill, Vaughn and Skye this time. Then again, I typed this up around midnight or something, plus I have to keep waking up early to help around the house…**

**Well, whatever, that's not the pointxD What**_** I**_** want to know is what **_**you**_** guys think of "A Hint of Magic" so far. Bad, good, decent; whatever, I just want to know how you feel so far about it.**

**Also, remember to vote on the poll on my profile about who you want Marrissa to end up with. It's three votes per person, so you can vote for more than one person :3**

**That's pretty much all I have to say this time 'round, so I'll see you guys next chapter. Bye!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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"Bella…"

"No."

"But Bella, I haven't even a-"

"No."

Sighing in frustration, Marrissa fell back on a chair in front of Bella's desk. Currently, the blonde was trying to talk her friend into some kind of plot that involved annoying a particular pair of fishermen. Yes, Denny and Kai. "Bella, why won't you let me sa-"

"Because I already know that you're trying to talk me into doing some crazy plan for your simple amusement, that would probably end up a disaster and get someone yelling at us," she said simply, rubbing her temples as she read over the paper work that Marrissa had interrupted a few days prior. "Plus, I'm still mad about the whole Bo thing…"

"Hey," she said in defense, holding her hands up, "I just wanted to make sure you guys were safe. It's better than having a baby pop out in nine months right?"

By this time, Isabella's face was a bright red as she clutched the pen in her hand so hard it started to crack, her hand shaking as she did so. The brunette slowly turned her head, her chocolate-brown eyes set in an ice-cold glare. "Marrissa, out. I need to finish this if I wanna keep the shop. And no pay-you-back-later-snacks."

"Tch, take the fun out of everything why don't you," she pouted, before sighing and nodding. "Fine, I'll get out of your hair, but you owe me."

"Hah, good luck with that," the candy hop owner smirked, shaking her head slightly, waving her hand good-bye without looking up.

Laughing, Marry returned the wave, walking out of the shop, sighing slightly. "Well, so much for that idea…" she muttered, tilting her head back to look at the sky.

"What plan?" a voice said from behind the farmer, causing her to jump slightly and whirl around, only to face the chest of Trent, the doctor.

Clutching her shirt, Marrissa heaved, shaking her head. "Give me a heart attack, why don't you Trent?" she laughed.

The black haired man blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized before looking down at the blonde in front of him. "Anyways, what was this 'plan' you were talking about just a moment ago?"

"Er… N-nothing!" Marrissa said quickly, eyes slightly wide as her body tensed. "You must be hearing things Trent. After all, why would _I_, of all people, plot something for something silly like my amusement?"

Trent just gave her a "look", obviously not believing her lie. Marrissa definitely wasn't the best liar in the world.

"… Fine, I was planning to do something to Kai and Denny. Happy?"

"Peachy," he smirked, crossing his arms and chuckling softly. "I would say I would help, but I have to go buy some groceries. Care to join me?" he questioned, unfolding his arms to hold out his right one.

Marry shrugged then nodded, grinning ever so slightly as she took the offered arm. "Ah, what the hell. I have nothing better to do after all."

"Except plot against innocent people," Trent said, looking down at her in amusement as they walked up towards the Rayne Mines.

"Yes, except for plotting against innocent people," she laughed. "Tch, you know me too well Trent, too well indeed."

**xXxXx**

"Hehe, see ya Trent! I'll bring you some milk or something tomorrow!" Marrissa grinned, waving as they parted ways in front of the small market.

Trent nodded, returning the wave with a small one of his own, entering the small shop to collect whatever it was he wanted to buy.

"Hm, what to do now…" the farmer wondered aloud, passing the blacksmiths, a grin spreading on her face.

The girl slipped into the shop, putting a finger to her lips to gesticulate to Saibara to say quiet and not give away her presence. The man, whose mouth had opened to greet her, clamped his jaws shut, smiling slightly and nodding.

Emerald green eyes peeked at the apprentice blacksmith. His back was turned to Marrissa as he pounded something with his hammer, giving her the perfect chance to sneak up behind him silently, Saibara watching in grim amusement, his arms crossed as he looked to see what the farmer's next move would be. Marry, now directly behind the boy, jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Gray!" she said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Gray tensed, jumping slightly as his hammer went down again, landing on his other hand, a yelp escaping his lips. "Marrissa!" he scolded, trying to keep his eyes from watering. Hey, you can't blame him; smashing your fingers with a hammer hurts.

"Hehe, hey Gray~" she grinned sheepishly, hopping off his back. "You alright?" Taking his wounded hand, Marrissa examined it, wincing slightly as his fingers started turning into a purple bruise.

"Does it look like I'm alright?" he growled, sapphire eyes slit into a glare. "Hell, I could've broken my own finger from that!"

A shiver shot down the girl's spine, guilt spreading across her features as she lowered her head, unable to keep his gaze with her own. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, raising his hand once more, kissing each finger gently, barely a brush of the lips.

Obviously, a rush of heat swarmed into Gray's cheeks as he yanked his hand back, almost stumbling from the sudden blood in his head.

Marry, oblivious to why Gray yanked his hand back, frowned sadly, lowering her head some more. "I… I'm sorry. I'll leave…" she whispered, heading towards the door. "Good bye Saibara, Gray…"

Sighing, Marrissa exited the blacksmith, listening to the door shut beside her as she leaned against the wall. Tipping her head back and closing her eyes, she listening to Gray and his grandfather yelling inside. She couldn't make out much of their conversation, except for a few swears and what not, probably more so from Gray. The blonde screamed slightly, jumping as the door swished open beside her, none so quietly. The blue eyes of the apprentice were full of many emotions; annoyance, anger, hurt, and once he turned to look at Marry, guilt.

"Look Marry, I didn't mean to… To scare you, or make you upset," he said, struggling for the right words. "What I mean is… I'm… I'm sorry."

The emerald eyed woman choked a laugh, rubbing at her eyes so the forming tears couldn't fall. "But I hurt you Gray… And I made you so mad… It would probably be better if I stopped coming here."

"No!" he retorted, eyes widening as he grabbed her shoulders, causing her to tense and forcing her eyes to meet his. "It's fine, my hand will heal! I just have to go to Trent, and it'll be good as new! And I'm not mad, not at you."

Marrissa attempted to choke another laugh out, but it came to even her own ears as a sob. "Gray…" she said, burying her face into his jacket, arms wrapping around him in a hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry…" The girl's words were barely audible and hard to make out considering her face was stuffed in the boy's chest.

Gray, now blushing, stood there awkwardly, arms limp by his sides until he slowly put on behind her shoulder blades, the other patting her head. "Marrissa, it's fine, I'm not mad. If there's anything I can do to make you feel better, tell me…"

The blonde pulled back, her nose running, her cheeks stained with tears. "Breathe, just breathe," Gray commanded in a soft voice, pushing her bangs to the side. Sighing, she shuddered and nodded, slowing her breathing and willing her tears to stop.

"That's so embarrassing…" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and cheeks. "I never cry, much less in public…" It was then that Marrissa realized what her friend had said. "I'll owe you something. I'll do anything to make up for hurting you, okay?"

"Anything hmm?" Gray grinned, tapping his chin in fake thought with his good hand. "Well, how's this. I'll call it even if… You make me something that's homemade, and nurse me back to health. Oh, and you have to-"

"Don't get carried away now," Marry giggled, voice cracking ever so slightly. "I'll make you something since that was the first thing you asked. And it'll be amazing."

"Tch, and I was so looking forward to seeing you in a neko-maid outfit," he laughed, ruffling her hair as she just rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "I'll walk you home; at least with this hand, Gramps can gimme a break and I won't have to go to work."

Laughing, the girl nodded, looking up at him with red cheeks. Whether it be from crying or just a plain blush, that's for you to decide.

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**A/n:**** Bleh, sorry for making this so much shorter than the others. I actually kind of like this chapter, and I didn't wanna ruin it by adding morexD Adding everything that I did in chapter three kind of… Ruined it for me. But I hope this made up for it!**

**Anyways, Trent and Gray were the bachelors introduced this time 'round, so that means after I introduce Kai, Denny, Julius, Gale, Rick and Will. After those, I'm counting on your guys' votes on who you think Marrissa should end up with! Of course, it would make my life ten times easier if you just voted nowxD If you want to do that, go to my profile and the poll is there :D**

**Hmm… Not much else, so I hope to see you guys next chapter! Oh, and remember to review, please and thank you! Ciao!**


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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Denny and Kai never knew they should never go fishing around Marrissa.

They found out the hard way.

"Kai-i-i, Denny-y-y, I'm bor-r-red!" Marrissa complained, lying on her back on the deck, her legs hanging over the edge and swinging back and fourth over the water.

Both fishermen sighed in annoyance, "Then go find something else to do," Denny suggested, glancing over his shoulder at the blonde farmer who shook her head.

"But I dun wanna…" she replied, sitting up as she put her weight on her arms that stayed behind her, propping her torso up. "I know! How about if I try fishing? I'm sure two experts could show someone like lil' ol' me a trick or two!"

First the boys were reluctant, but Marrissa's compliment did the trick. "Okay, c'mere," Kai grinned, motioning her to go to where he was sitting. Marry did so, and somehow ended up sitting in front of Kai, his legs on either side of her.

Denny just laughed at their position considering the farmer was completely oblivious to how awkward it could be. By that time, the curly haired man had turned around, watching the show. By that time, Kai's arm's were around Marrissa as he, in his mind, showed her how to hold the fishing rod properly.

"Oh, I see, I see! I guess I've been holding it wrong all these years!" she laughed.

"Okay, gonna try catching a fish now?" Kai asked, the blonde bobbing her head up and down in response.

Marrissa brought the line back to cast, waiting for her eyes to go over the string once more. "Where did it go?" she mumbled, looking around, then glancing at Kai who shrugged. It wasn't normal for fishing lines to just disappear in thin air.

Denny sat there, also in confusion. He saw the line go back, but it just vanished. "Try reeling it in," he suggested, both the farmer and other fisherman nodding in response.

Marrissa started reeling, tilting her head to the side. "I think I caught something. And something big," she explained, allowing Kai to steal the wheel from Marrissa, reeling the line.

"You caught a huge one Marry!" he laughed, standing and pulling the rod back.

Denny was also laughing, meaning he hadn't noticed the tugging on the back of his pants. Even if he had, he probably would've pinned the tugging on his little bird that was usually perched on his shoulder. As Kai and now Marrissa were standing, pulling and reeling the rod, Denny stood to go over and help them. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he began standing, that's all it took for the hook in his pants to yank him back.

"Yahh!" he yelled, being pulled backwards off his feet and into the water. Marrissa and Kai spun their heads behind them, continuing to reel.

"What hap-"

"Don't worry," Kai interrupted. "Lets worry about catching this fish; Denny probably just fell into the l-"

At that moment, the end of the line finally came up, Denny hooked and dangling there, blowing his hair out of his face. "No, I was kind of forced into the lake," he said, glaring at the fellow man that could literally pass for his cousin, if not twin.

Marrissa and Kai laughed at Denny, who still hung there helplessly. "Wanna help my out?" he asked, only for the line to break, falling into the lake once more. The curly haired man rose to the surface, not looking impressed at all. "Some help?" he questioned, pulling himself up onto the deck when Marrissa offered her hand.

"Ick, you reek like seaweed dude," Kai laughed, pinching his nose in a teasing manner.

"Oh really?" Denny questioned, a shadow of a smirk on his features. In a swift movement, the soaked boy pushed his friend into the water, chuckling as he did so. "Well, now we'll smell like seaweed together!"

Marrissa laughed at the scene between the two boys, holding out a hand to help Kai out of the water. "He got ya there, hon," she smirked, shaking her head and screaming when Kai grabbed her hand and yanked her into the water.

"There, now you're not the only dry and normal-smelling one," he laughed, Denny joining along. "Denny, wanna help me out?" Shrugging, the fish-lover held his hand out, being pulled in as well.

Once the curly-haired man surfaced, he turned to his "twin" and glared, "You're a douche, you know that?" he questioned with a series face before breaking into laughter.

**xXxXx**

The next half hour or so was mainly the trio swimming around in the lake, trying not to drown from their clothes becoming full of water, splashing around and being total, well, retards.

Laughing, Marrissa was floating on her back, Denny and Kai having some kind of splashing war. "Should we get out and dry off soon?" Marry questioned, amused by the boys' silly antics.

Her voice brought both of them back to the real world, blinking and chuckling once more before they both nodded. "Marry, your house is closest, may as well go there," Kai said, swimming back to the dock, hauling himself up, then holding out a hand for Denny and Marrissa.

"You're just using that as an excuse to snoop through my stuff huh?"

"Wha-a-a-t? Why would _I_ do something like _that_?"

"You're kidding right?" Marrissa asked, laughing slightly, "Whatever, c'mon you two. I wouldn't want you two blaming me if you caught a cold or something."

Before they started walking, both Kai and Denny complained the fabric of their shirts were itchy, so they both removed the fabrics that once covered their well-toned muscles. "Itchy huh? Really, you guys look like strippers," she laughed, shaking her head, though she had to admit, the damp clothes _were_ quite annoying.

Shrugging, the boys grinned. "Caught us already?" one questioned.

"Of course, if you wanted, we could take off more," the other said, arching an eyebrow, smirking ever so slightly.

"You two are just horny little bastards aren't you?" Marrissa laughed, shaking her head. "Now I'm kind of reluctant to allow you into my house."

"Aww, c'mon, don't be like that, Marry!" Kai complained, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Denny mimicking him and nodded. "We were just fooling around!"

"I was too," she smirked, sliding her arms around their waists.

**xXxXx**

Marrissa walked out of her room barefoot, a towel on her head and a pair of jean cut-off short-shorts along with a black tank top. "Here're some towels, I have the baths ready for you. One upstairs, one downstairs," she said, tossing said towels at the faces of the two tan men in her living room.

"Aww man, right when we were about to snoop through your panty drawer," Kai smirked, laughing as Marrissa rolled her eyes and pointed to the bathroom.

"I hope you know you're a pervert. Both of you."

"Wha-a-at? I didn't do anything!" Denny protested, pointing at himself. As soon as Marrissa gave him the "look", his innocent act shattered into a billion pieces.

Sighing in defeat, Kai and Denny headed toward Marrissa's bathroom, only to head her order them to leave their clothes outside the door so they could be washed. Obviously, both boys were slightly reluctant, but wrapped towels around their waists and placed their soaked garments outside the door, only to find boxers, sweat pants and large t-shirt folded neatly outside.

No, Marrissa was not a creeper who bought guy's boxers and clothes for no reason. Half of the guy clothes in her closet belonged to Ace, things he left whenever he stayed the night. The other half of those clothes were just things Marry slept in or walked around her house in on rainy, stormy or snowy days.

As soon as the blonde farmer heard the second bathroom shut and made sure the showers were going in both rooms, she collected their clothes, throwing them into the washer. Yes, they would be stuck at her house longer, but first of all, their clothes still had the stench of seaweed, fish and saltwater; second, Marry doubted either of them would care much about having extra time to snoop around her house.

Sighing, Marrissa stood in her living room alone, looking around for something to pass the time when her eyes passed over the entrance to her kitchen, a small smile crossing her lips. "Ah, what the hell," she thought aloud, shrugging before walking onto the familiar tiled floor in the pale yellow room, the black appliances looking as if untouched.

Actually, her whole house was a mixture of pale or pastel colours, most of them having dark furniture for contrast. Her bedroom was a pale, spring green, all the furniture inside a wooden or chocolate brown; the colours reminded her of spring and summer days, and made her feel at peace. Both bathrooms were a baby-blue, a black tub, sink and toilet found in either of them. The living room had white walls, a grey carpet and crimson couches, a glass coffee table and a large, silver TV resting across from the couches. The only other room was the dining room, violet walls with a wooden table set, usually adorned with a white or black table cloth.

But that's beside the main point of this story.

Marrissa cooked some dinner for the two men who were in her house, but because she finished before they finished their showers, she ended up trying to read on the crimson couch in her living room.

Finally, Denny emerged from the bathroom wearing black sweats and a white t-shirt, his curly hair damp from the water. Quietly, he padded through the halls, looking at the other bathroom door as he heard the water come to a halt. The curly man walked into the kitchen and through the dining room as he saw two plates of sashimi waiting there. Picking up one of said plates, he continued walking around, looking for the farmer. By the time he finally got to the living room, he almost passed her since Marrissa was sleeping soundlessly on the couch, a book lying limp on the ground beside it.

The tanned man smiled, picking up the book and setting it on the coffee table, glancing over at Marrissa who's breathing was as silent as a feather. Denny moved her bangs back, moving his face closer to hers until his lips were just above her forehead. Only a few millimeters away, Denny realized what he was about to do, and pulled back, his face burning bright.

"Dude… What were you about to do?" a voice said from the hall. Looking up, Denny saw Kai who was leaning against the entrance in grey sweats and a violet shirt, his bandana hanging from his pocket. If his mere presence wasn't enough, that annoying little smirk on his face caused Denny to glare as him, face reddening to the max.

"H-how long were you out there?" he stuttered, his small black bird nudging his arm to hop up. Really, he almost completely forgot that small creature was with the trio, "sorry buddy," he mumbled, picking it up and placing him on his shoulder. Denny glanced up, embarrassment crystal clear in his eyes. "Please Kai, please, don't tell her. I… I don't even know what came over me! I've never had feelings for Marry before!"

"You're gonna have to earn it," the other said, grinning.

"I'll do anything! _Please, just don't say a word_."

"A word about what?" Kai and another voice questioned. Both men looked over at the couch where a half-asleep blonde was sitting, rubbing her emerald eyes.

"N-nothing!" Denny said in panic, glaring at Kai to make sure he got the message.

Apparently he did considering his reply was simply, "Nothing. _Nothing_ _at all_."

**xXxXx**

Currently, on the other side of the island, someone walked off the boat. Her hair was as black as pitch, short in the back but slightly longer in the front. The woman removed her sunglasses, revealing chocolate-brown eyes as she began grinning at the town beyond the beach. "Maybe moving here won't be such a pain after all."

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**A/n:**** WELL THEN. This seriously didn't turn out the way I expected. At allxD For example, I was originally going to have the whole Denny getting caught scene, then change over and introduce Popuri, Lanna and Rick or something, but ideas lead to other ideas, which lead to thisxD**

**Either way, I like how I wrote this. And go figure; before I wrote this, I preferred Kai over Denny. Now that I've played around with Denny's character, I'm not sure which one I like morexD**

**By the way, the new arrival isn't a bad guy or anything. It's actually one of my best friends OCs since she wanted to be in the story tooxD Her character will have a little more development in chapter six.**

**Hmm… What else? Oh yeah! I **_**need**_** you guys to go vote on the poll on my profile about who you think Marrissa should be paired with; seriously, it's currently a ten-way tie. So go do that!**

**Also, reviews are always appreiciatedxD Anyways, see ya guys next time!**


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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"You know," Marrissa started, looking over at Ace, "You really should get to know some other people. I heard there's a new girl on the island; you should come meet her with us."

"Yeah," Bella agreed, nodding, "It'd be good for you. And who knows? Maybe bells will go off in your head," she laughed, nudging his ribs.

"Ha-ha, very funny," he sarcastically replied, giving both girls a tired look. "Really, what is it with you two and trying to find me a girlfriend?"

"It's fun to mess with you," they immediately replied without hesitation, giving him blank looks.

Ace just gave them dull looks before groaning and nodding. "Fine, whatever, I'll go meet her."

"Yes!" Marrissa cheered, pumping her fist in the air before grabbing his arm, Bella snatching the other. The mechanic just sighed, letting the two smaller women drag him out of the oil-streaked shop that he called "home".

**xXxXx**

"You!" Marrissa called, waving frantically across the town square once she spotted the woman who must be the new arrival. The girl looked around, then let her gaze rest on the trio as she pointed at herself. Seeing that the black haired woman had recognized it was she whom Marry was waving at, the rambunctious farmer nodded, waving her over.

The girl just mentally shrugged, walking the few short steps she needed until she was in front of the three islanders. "Yeah?" she questioned, examining the three, more so their eyes.

Looking upon the newcomer, Marrissa started silently examining her; black hair cropped short at the back, slightly longer in the front, bangs swept to the right, slightly covering chocolate eyes. Both earlobes had a small blue stud implanted, high on her left cartilage a black hoop hung limp. Along with those, her nose also adorned a ring on the sight side, the silver reflecting the light. The girl's skin was relatively pale, but still darker than Marrissa's porcelain-like covering.

"What's your name?" the blonde questioned, grinning slightly as she looked up at Ace, whose face showed nothing out of the ordinary; in fact, he looked a tad… bored? Seeing no perk in his interest, Marrissa sighed slightly, but returned her emerald orbs to the newcomer, a small smile graced on her lips.

"Uh, Sarah," she replied, holding her hand out to shake theirs. In turn, Marrissa, Ace and Bella all shook their hands. "I just got transferred here; looks like I'll be working part time at the shops here."

"Hey Sarah, I'm Marrissa, call me Marry, and this," she paused, putting a hand on the much taller boy's shoulder, "is Ace. That," pausing once more, the farmer pointed to her brunette friend, "Is Isabella."

"Call me Bella," the candy shop owner grinned with a nod. "I work at the candy shop. Maybe you can help out sometime?"

Sarah just smiled and nodded, "Sure. Really, I just work at whatever place needs me," she laughed with a shrug.

Marrissa laughed and nodded, "I know what you mean. I was like that too when I first started ranching. I needed money for crops and animals, but I didn't want to ask my Aunt for it," she explained, crossing her arms.

Sarah's eyes lit up slightly, "Animals? Do you think I could come visit sometime to see them?" she asked eagerly, smiling even larger than before.

"Of course. They'd probably like seeing a new face every now and then," Marrissa chuckled, and idea popping into her head. "Actually, would you like to see some animals right now? I was planning on heading over to the Snowy Day district to buy a horse. Care to join?"

The new islander bobbed her head up and down quickly, "That'd be awesome!" The trio of old islanders were kind of curious whether Sarah noticed the strange name of the district and asked before, if she noticed it but didn't want to question, or if she just didn't give a shit.

Personally, I'd say the latter would be the proper one.

Grinning, Marrissa nodded, grabbing Sarah's wrist as she started dragging her off towards the Snowy Day district. "Bella, Ace, I'll see you guys later!" she called, waving frantically before returning her focus to the new islander.

Once the two were out of ear shot, Bella glanced up at Ace, "Well, so much for the whole bells thing," she laughed, Ace sighing in reply. "Oh c'mon Ace, if you like her, tell her."

Yes, Isabella knew of Ace's little crush; of course, many people on the island did, but the farmer was too oblivious to realize his feelings. Really, she was just one of those people who could see when two other people liked one another, but when it came to people liking her, her realization was that of a rock. Maybe even less.

"Like you're the one to talk," he smirked, crossing his arms. "What about your whole Bo situation?"

That comment made the girl's face brighten in an instant. "Sh-shut up!" she mumbled, grabbing his wrist as she dragged him towards her store, "Never speak of that again, and I'll give you some candy," she said, smirking slightly.

The bribe worked. More or less at least.

**xXxXx**

Sarah and Marrissa were laughing about something or other when the farmer swung the store's door open. Stopping in the middle of the conversation, Marry bowed, smiling at the sickly woman who sat behind the counter. "Hey Lillian," she smiled, "How're you today?"

"Fine, thank you. I'm actually able to go for a walk today," the woman replied, sincerely pleased with the mere fact she could actually go outside.

"That's great!" the farmer replied, finally remembering about Sarah, whom was now in the corner, looking at something or other trying to look occupied, but failing horribly. "Lillian, this is Sarah, a newcomer to the island."

The black haired girl took that as her cue to finally move u to the counter and shake the woman's out stretched hand. "It's nice to meet you ma'am," she smiled with a nod.

At that moment, a glasses-wearing boy with shoulder-length hair walked in, obviously annoyed as a pink haired girl followed, ranting about something. One could've sworn they had heard Kai's name somewhere in the sped up words that spouted from the girl's lips.

"And those," Marrissa, pointing at the newcomers, "Are Lillian's kids, Rick and Popuri," she explained, grinning slightly.

Rick's eyes brightened at the sight of the two who stood in the room; finally, something that could distract him from his sister's annoying complaints. Sarah smiled and nodded at the siblings, "I'm Sarah."

"Nice to meet you," Popuri grinned, popping in front of Rick and shaking her hand.

Rick sighed, pushing the pink haired girl to the side, "What brings you two here?" he questioned, doing his best to put aside the constant glaring of his sister.

"Well, two things; one, Sarah here wanted to see the animals. Two, I wanted to buy a horse," she explained, grinning slightly.

In response, the animal-loving boy nodded, "Both of you follow me then," he said, gesturing for the two to follow him outside. Rick led them outside where cows, sheep, horses, goats, chickens, ducks and even ostriches grazed. Sarah had stopped as soon as they jumped inside the fenced area to play with all the animals. Marrissa, on the other hand, had stopped just behind Rick who stood along side a large horse, it's coat black with a small white spot in the middle of it's forehead that resembled a diamond. "This here," the boy smiled, stroking the horse, "is probably one of the best horses on the ranch. For you, she's only two thousand and six hundred G."

"Wow, really? That's an awesome price!" she grinned, fishing in her pockets for the money. "Here you go, in exact cash~"

"It's always a please doing business with you," Rick grinned, "Anyways, I should probably get back to mom. Hope to see ya soon Marry."

The farmer nodded in replied, expertly climbing onto the horse so she could ride bareback. Blinking, Marrissa saw two small kittens meowing and pawing at the steed's legs. Laughing slightly, she jumped off and scooped up the kittens, placing them gingerly on the back of her newest animal. Climbing up once more, the kitten easily jumped onto the shoulders of Marry.

"Hm, I can't just keep calling you 'horsie' now can I?" Patting the animal whose back she sat comfortably on, Marrissa started going through names in her head. "How about Shadow? Do you like that name?"

The horse, now named Shadow, neighed in response. "Well Shadow, let's go then!" she grinned.

One second, Marrissa was on the back of her horse, the next she was falling off, sucking in air to scream when two arms caught her in the way one would for those trust exercises people always do in gym; you know, the ones where two people are paired, and one falls back where the other is supposed to catch him/her, and usually steps out of the way so they can laugh when the fallee lands on their ass? Yeah, that's how Marry was caught, just without the whole stepping-out-of-the-way-and-laughing part.

"Are you alright?" a new voice questioned from above the blonde's head. Blinking and shaking her head slightly, she looked up, still awkwardly in the arms of her savior.

First, only sunlight entered her eyes, causing her to be blind for a moment, but within a few seconds, a head blocked her view of the sun's harsh rays. Above her, a pale boy stood, his hair a shining blond, almost white in the sun, with pale blue eyes of spring skies. "Will? Is that you?"

Laughing slightly, the boy helped Marrissa to her feet, "Why yes, it is. Are you alright my dear maiden? I do hope nothing harmed someone with your beauty."

The emerald eyed girl just laughed as she nodded. "Same as always I see. And yes, I'm fine," she grinned. "What brings you here Will?"

"Can I just say I had the feeling a maiden was in trouble and would need some assistance?" he questioned, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Well, you could, but I wouldn't believe you," she smirked, crossing her arms.

Shrugging, the blonde boy chuckled, "I'm here to pick up some medicine for my horse," he explained.

"Anyways, I should probably be going now. Looks like these little kitties and starting to get freaked out by the animals." And it was true; if you looked at the ground, you could see the two kitties huddled close to Marrissa's ankles, their little bodies shivering.

Nodding, Will smiled and grabbed her hand, pecking the back softly; it was his usual good-bye. At least with girls. "Until next time, fair lady."

Grinning, Marry nodded, climbing onto the horse once more, the kittens now snuggled in the front of her shirt. "See ya Will," she smiled, waving slightly before nudging the horse's side lightly with her foot.

"C'mon Shadow," she said, bracing herself this time when the horse attempted to throw her off once more. "Hah, can't get rid 'a me that easily," Marry smirked, somehow managing to get the animal to start a light gallop. "Sarah! I gotta go! Rick'll walk you home!" she called, waving to the black haired girl, almost being thrown off Shadow's back once more.

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**A/n:**** Definitely not my favourite chapter, but I could care less right now considering I'm literally about to pass out on my deskxD Anyways, now the only one who needs to be introduced is Gale, then I have to start harassing you guys to vote even morexD**

**Speaking of, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, but I removed both Rick and Julius from the poll. In Rick's case, I just really can't force myself to make a fanfiction with him in it considering I originally thought he was a girl, and he's never been one of my farourite bachelors. For Julius, I just can't see Marrissa ending up with him romantically, but they'll probably end up being good friends. MaybexD**

**Umm… What else… OH! I added a poll on my profile for who you guys want Ace to be paired with! And no, I'm sorry, but Marrissa isn't an optionxD Get those votes to me ASAP since I have a few ideas :3**

**I can't think of anything else to say about this, so I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Byee!**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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"C'mon Bella, it'll be fun," Marrissa grinned as she stood on the edge of an ocean of trees, tugging at her friend's wrist. "I've been in the forest a bajillion times; it's not like something is gonna try to eat us."

"Marry, it's still a bad idea! What if there really is a witch and wizard? They could curse us to be imprisoned to eating Maya's cooking for the rest of our lives!" the brunette replied, eyes wide and pleading.

"Marrissa, we're here!" a voice called from behind the two, Marry grinning and waving as Chase and Bo started walking from the bridge to where Isabella and the farmer stood, a good twenty or so meters.

"C'mon, please? Plus, if you get scared, you can cling onto Bo!" she whispered, grinning widely.

The candy shop owner just glared at the smiling farmer who had plastered on her "innocent" face. "Marrissa Charlotte Fray," she growled, "I hope you know I hate you sometimes…"

"Well I love you two!" the blonde laughed, patting Bella's back which only caused her to sigh in defeat and nod, giving her a look that was basically saying "Fine, but you owe me."

"What're you guys talking about?" Bo questioned, tilting his head to the side slightly as he and the chef appeared beside the pair of girls.

"Oh, just girl stuff! You know, boys, tampons, chick flicks," Marissa lied, waving the question off with a laugh. "Anyways, ready to go exploring?"

"In there?" Chase asked, pointing towards the woods, a slightly confused look on his face before he laughed and shrugged. "Actually, I'm okay with that!"

Bo, on the other hand, looked slightly afraid, but he seemed to swallow that fear and nod to himself, as if deciding he would do this even if it was the last thing he would do.

"Good, now that everything's decided, let's go find us a witch and wizard!" Marry grinned, grabbing Chase's hand and dragging him the first few steps towards the forest. Bo and Bella glanced at each other hesitantly, quietly taking the other's hand and following the first pair of explorers. Obviously, the hand holding of the two behind her didn't get away from the eyes of Marrissa, who was quietly smiling before engaging in some kind of conversation with Chase.

**xXxXx**

Marrissa groaned as she slid down the trunk of a tree. "We've been walking for hours," she complained, sighing slightly.

Chase just looked down at her, an eyebrow arched with a small smirk on his lips. "Tired already? It's only been fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes? It feels like it's been _years_," she complained, waving her hands around frantically.

Chuckling lightly, Chase held out his hand to help Marrissa up, which she took despite her desire to sit down for a while. "Hey, where did Bella and Bo go?" he questioned, looking around the area, not seeing any signs of the two anywhere.

"Oh, they're probably in the bushes havin' se-"

"Do you always make perverted comments about those two?" the chef interrupted.

"Yes, why ye-"

An ear shattering scream came somewhere from the forest. The peach haired boy and Marrissa, who had jumped into his arms, looked at each other slightly wide-eyed.

"… Why did you jump into my arms?" he asked before anything, a light pink tint on his cheeks as he set the farmer on the ground.

In return, Marry shrugged, "I always wanted to do that to someone," she laughed, "That scream was the perfect moment. Now, back to business, I'm assuming that scream came from our lost couple… _Damn_ they must be having a good ti-"

"Marrissa, shut up," Chase said, attempting to hold back a laugh, but failing. "No wonder Bella hates being around you when she's with Bo," he grinned before grabbing her hand. "But we should go make sure nothing's wrong… I heard there are weird things in this forest…"

Nodding, Marrissa squeezed Chase's hand before they started running, slipped through trees and jumping over logs as they came closer to the source of the voice.

"I see light!" Marrissa exclaimed, pointing with her free hand to a clearing. They tumbled out of the thick brush, tripping over one another's feet until they began rolling. By the time they had finally stopped, amethyst and emerald eyes stared up at the two figures who were standing.

One could tell from the mere silhouette that one of the two people was in the other's arms bridal style, just as Marry had jumped into Chase's arms only minutes before. Of course, with this information, one would assume it was a woman in the man's arms, but no, not this time.

This time, Bo had his arms wrapped securely around Isabella's neck, his body cradled in his arms. "Marrissa," Chase said, still lying in dirt and twigs beside the farmer as they looked at the two, "I think your guess was a little… Off."

Bo, face ablaze, slowly lowered himself to the ground, offering a hand to help the chef and farmer up. Both look his hand, yanked themselves up –almost causing Bo to fall in the process- then dusted off their clothes.

"Uh…" Marrissa started, attempting to break the awkward silence, "Nice weather we're having, huh?"

Chase snickered at that, making the farmer smile a little bit before she sighed. "Okay, really, what was with the scream?"

"There was a _huge_ spider," Bella explained, her expression a mixer of embarrassment and meekness. Obviously, Bo was probably more embarrassed considering he was the one who screamed and jumped into Bella's arms.

The rambunctious girl choked back a snicker, covering herself with a cough, that sounded realistic, but was still obviously fake. "Bella, Bo," she said, her tone literally dripping with held-back laughter, "Why don't you two go to the Inn or something? Chase, keep exploring with me," she grinned with a nod, before turning and taking a step, only to trip step in a pile of dirt and twigs, setting off some kind of trap. She screamed as a net closed around her, pulling her high into the trees.

Gasping she clung to the net with her hand, eyes wide when the rush upwards slowed, and finally stopped. Glancing down, she began shivering uncontrollably, squeezing her eyes shut. Fear of heights is quite common you know. "You guys!" she shouted down, refusing to look around for her friends. "Go back to town! I'll find a way down and meet you at the Inn!"

A voice called back; presumably Bella's considering it was quite feminine, "Got it! You better be in one piece when you come to town though! If we don't see you in an hour, we're calling for help!"

"Got it!" the farmer yelled back, now able to pinpoint her friends' location from Bella's previous shout. Marrissa had to strain her ears to hear them walking away, but eventually the sounds of branches snapping stopped as the trio escaped the brush.

Sighing, the farmer finally opened her eyes, but looked towards the sky. No way would she be looking down again; she'd probably end up puking. After about five minutes or so, a voice cut through her train of though.

"Do you… Need some help?" it questioned softly.

In response, Marry sat up straight, looking around until she saw white against the earthy colours. Looking closer, she observed the bright white was actually the trousers of a tanned man with sandy blonde hair, and eyes of both topaz and, like her own, emerald. From this distance, she could see he also worse a black turtle neck, black boots, and a deep violet, perhaps navy robe. Besides that though, she couldn't see much detail. "Who are you?" she questioned back, slightly tense.

The man, who once stood meters away, in the blink of an eye, was on the branch her net hung from, crouching with cat-like quietness and grace. "Call me Wizard," he replied, and from what Marrissa could assume, he started moving his hands with swift movement, untying the knot of her trap.

"Uh, isn't that a bad idea? I'll fall and cra- AH!" The girl began screaming as she felt herself speed down to the Earth, the net hanging limp around her falling figure. _"Damn you gravity,"_ she thought, cussing in her head as she squeezed her eyes shut. _"I still had so much to live for! I haven't even had my first kiss!"_ Marrissa then thought back to the silver haired thief from only a few nights prior. _"That… That didn't count of course! I only did that to get my necklace back!"_

Just as the farming girl was about to mentally scold herself for thinking of such a thing just before death, two… two things that she assumed were arms, caught her midair, causing the air to rush from her lungs. Marrissa coughed, trying to regain her lost air, when she slit her eyes open, looking into two topaz and emerald ones staring into her own. _"It's the guy from before," _she thought with curiosity. From where she was before, Marry hasn't seen the strange white mark under his right eye, nor the sandy-blonde braid on the right side of his head. "Th-thank you," she said, eyes slightly wide from the shock a moment later, she could have been a pancake. "Wait… How did you get down here so fast?"

"I have… My ways," he replied, his face seeming quite expressionless, but Marrissa, being as observant as she it, saw the shadow of a grin on his features.

She slowly slid away from his arms, slightly blushing at the fact she had been in his arms, clinging onto his shirt for a tad longer than necessary. "I'm Marrissa," she introduced, turning around and holding her hand out to shake. The man hesitated a moment, but shook her hand in a way he wasn't quite sure he was doing it properly.

"Marrissa… I'll remember that," he said quietly, still wearing a stoic expression.

Some rustling to Marry's right caused both of the two to look over to see what the source was. "Jeez, I've been looking for you everywhere!" a woman growled as she spotted Wizard. Her hair was made of wavy, golden strands, her eyes a bright crimson, if not ruby colour. She worse a purple dress, a small black cape with some kind of pendant holding it closed; at a closer look, you could see the decoration on the cape was actually the shape of a small skull, surrounded by yellow and red beads.

"Uh… Who's she?" the farmer questioned, pointing at the new arrival as she looked over to her savior.

In response to Marrissa's voice, the golden haired woman looked over at her, finally registering her presence. "I," the ruby eyed woman started, a slightly evil looking grin on her features, "am the Witch Princess."

"So you're the Wizard," Marrissa said, pointing to the sandy blonde man who just returned her stare, nodding once, "and you're the Witch. Everyone has heard rumors, but I never thought you guys were real!"

The Witch just laughed, the Wizard rolled his eyes at the reaction of his accomplice. "We tend… To keep to ourselves," he said, looking at Marrissa. "It keeps us out of… Trouble, you could say. We assume… Many villagers wouldn't like the idea… Of two magical beings," he explained.

"Wait… You guys can actually do magic?" the farmer exclaimed with wide eyes.

"We are the Witch and Wizard of the island," the other woman scoffed, a smirk on her features. "Of course, you mere mundanes don't _believe_ in magic, correct?"

"That's not true!" Marry retorted, shaking her head. "All of us believe in the Harvest Goddess and Harvest King, as well as the magic they use to keep the island alive!"

Witch snickered, and Wizard allowed a small grin to show through. "Of course, you all believe in the petty magic those two have. Really, it's us siblings who do all the work," she explained, putting her arms around her brother's shoulders.

"R-Really?" the emerald eyed girl asked, slightly shocked at this piece of information. "Why do you two keep yourselves so isolated then? Why not let everyone know the truth?"

"Because," the man of the group said, "if we are known to mere mundanes… They come to us… Seeking wishes, and many of them… We cannot grant."

"Why is that?" she questioned, crossing her arms, truly interested in the matter at hand.

The Witch was taking the lead in answering the questions as she let go of her brother (yes, they are siblings), only to go sit on a tree stump while she continued to explain everything. Of course, Wizard didn't seem to mind that at all. "Rules. There are many rules in the magic business. Usually, there's equivalent exchange; we can't make something out of nothing. There are some loops holes in this, but not many. There are four big rules; one, we cannot create gold. Two, we cannot bring anything back to life, except for plants. Three, we cannot try to rule the world with our magic; it's quite boring that way too, might I add. And finally, we cannot let our names be known, unless vows of promise are made."

"So, basically you have to get married? And why can't you let your name be known?"

"Yes, marriage or something similar to that. And names have great power in the magic world. To let another know yours, you are eternally vulnerable to them, and all their reincarnations. Though, for some odd reason, witches and wizards all know the names of one another upon a glance. Rules also state we cannot over take another magical being."

"I have one more question," the farmer stated, looking at both of them in a serious matter. "Why are you allowing me to know of all this?"

"Marrissa Charlotte Fray," Wizard said, his face continuously blank of emotion. "You are no mundane. You, you are special. You are neither human nor pure witch."

"I'm… Not human?" she asked, blinking slightly as she pointed to herself. She began feeling uneasy, her legs about to give out under her weight as if they had turned to jell-o. Slowly, she lowered herself to the safe ground made of earth and twigs, along with some pine needles and leaves every here and there.

The Wizard and Witch glanced at each other, mentally asking one another if it was a bad idea telling Marrissa the truth. "What am I then?" she whispered, staring at the rocks and dirt.

"That is… For you to find out… On your own," Wizard replied, nodding. "But right now… I suggest you get back… To your friends. They would be… Worried about you by now…"

Nodding, Marrissa willed herself to stand and leave the brush without another word to the magical pair behind her. Just at the edge of the clearing, she turned, a determined expression on her features. "Where do you live? I want some more questions answered later."

"When the time comes," the tanned man replied, "we'll fetch you and bring you to our home."

The girl nodded and turned. "Gale, Mizuki," she said without looking at them. "I'll be back soon." With that, Marry left the forest to go to the inn, now a different person.

**A/n:**** Whew! Six full pages (seriously, these notes start on the seventh page), this is a record so far! Before anything else, I want to thank TheOneAndOnlyBree for all their reviews! Cookies for you! :D**

**Now, just to clarify, "Mizuki" is what I'm calling the Witch Princess, because I don't think she actually has a real name. If she does, then whatever, I could care less right now xD But all of you, tell me what you think so far! Did you expect Marrissa to not be human, or was it a total twist? Reviews, reviews, reviews, please and thank you!**

**Also, remember to go to my profile and vote for who you want to see Marrissa with. So far, Skye is in the lead with three votes, Denny, Gray and Gill close behind with two votes, as well as Chase, Luke, Gale, Trent, Kai and Vaughn tied for third with one vote, and Will, the little loner, at fourth with no votes at all. I'm thinking that by the end of the poll, whoever is second will be the love interest for my next fanfiction.**

**Oh, by the way, if you were wondering; that poll I made for Ace is no longer real. I didn't realize you could only have one poll at a time on your profile, soooo yeah.**

**Anyways, hope you all enjoyed, and that's all for now! See ya next time!**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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"Marrissa," Gray groaned as he was dragged out of his room at the Inn, only wearing a pair of sweat pants, his hair mussed from sleep. "Where the hell are you taking me at six AM on my day off?"

"My house," she said simply, glancing over her shoulder, tightening her death grip on the boy's wrist.

Sighing in annoyance, Gray opened his very tired sapphire orbs. "Why exactly?"

"You're the one who wanted me to make you something homemade," Marrissa smirked, shaking her head and acting as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You can't wait long enough for me to actually get dressed?"

"Nope." Marrissa said, laughing slightly as she dragged the bare-foot, half naked man down the stairs, only pausing long enough to wave to her Aunt who stood in the lobby with a robe hugging her body, a cup of coffee in hand. "See ya Auntie," she smiled, waving to the very tired Natalia.

"Have fun dear. I'll come by later for a visit," the innkeeper said, returning the hug with one arm.

And with that, Marrissa dragged Gray outside, where her black steed stood, waiting to be mounted. "Gray, meet Shadow," she grinned, stroking the shining coat of her newest family member. Only a moment later, she hefted herself onto the back of the horse, swinging her leg over its back.

The blacksmith just stared at the farmer blankly. "You expect me to ride bareback on _that_," he asked, pointing to the horse.

"I told you her name was Shadow," she said, returning the boy's blank look. "And yes, I expect you to ride bare back. Unless you wanna walk over sharp rocks and stones to my farm, I suggest you hop on soon."

A reluctant sigh came from his lips as he finally sighed. "Fine." He muttered, mimicking Marry's earlier movements to get on the horse's back.

"Oh, and you should probably hold onto my waist or she'll-"

Shadow interrupted when she kicked her back legs, making Gray fall flat on his ass, who was slightly shocked at the sudden tumble. "Buck you off," Marrissa finished with a laugh, sliding off to help the boy to his feet.

"Thanks for the warning," he muttered, rolling his eyes in pure annoyance, but really, he was too tired to get mad.

"Any time," she smirked, yanking him up once his hand fit into her own. "Really, you get used to it after the fifteenth or so time."

"Great." He muttered, lifting himself onto the back of the animal after Marrissa was in position. No matter how embarrassed and hurt his pride was becoming, the Blacksmith wrapped his arms securely around her waist, awaiting the horrible experience of the ride to start.

**xXxXx**

"Remind me never to ride a horse again." Gray muttered, arms limp around Marrissa's waist, his face pale from the ride.

"Awww, c'mon, don't be such a wimp," she smirked, glancing over her shoulder at the boy as she slowed Shadow to a halt. "It wasn't _that_ bad was it?"

"Yes, why yes it was," he muttered, removing his arms from her waist to rub his temples, but as soon as the horse felt both of them unaware, she kicked her back legs once more, making both Gray and Marrissa tumble down to the ground, the grass breaking their fall, but not by much.

"Ow," they muttered in unison. Gray was the first to the ground, allowing Marrissa to have a softer landing. They didn't even realize the awkward position they sat in; Gray lying on the ground, Marrissa having flipped in the air so she fell on him. Both raised their heads slightly, wincing in pain, their faces only a few centimeters away.

Both young adults seemed to realize what position they had fallen at the same time, both sets of cheeks brightening slightly. "S-sorry!" the blacksmith and farmer apologized in unison once more, scrambling away from one another. Marrissa sat there, her legs folded under her body while Gray sat almost cross-legged, but only his ankles overlapped, his knees wide to the sides. The two of them sat like there for a few minutes in silence before the farmer finally stood, holding her hand out to help Gray up.

"C'mon, I didn't bring you all the way out here just so we could sit in silence blushing," she said, a small smile gracing her lips. Gray look her warm hand in his, using it to help himself to his feet, a smile of his own to reflect hers.

"You're right. Let's just pretend that didn't happen okay?" he asked, though for some reason, he didn't really want to forget. It seemed Marrissa didn't really want to either considering she hesitated before nodding in agreement.

The blonde girl led Gray over to her small home, unlocking the door and opening it, yawning slightly. "Stay here," she grinned, motioning with her hands. In the other room, the kitchen actually, you could hear shuffling and a little clattering of something or other.

Expecting Marrissa to come out the door way she went through the first time, he jumped slightly as Marrissa winded up behind him, having come through the arch that led to the dining room. Before he could say anything to the girl, a piece of black cloth covered his eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked, completely confused about the matter at hand.

Completely ignoring his question, Marrissa held up her hand, three fingers lifted, "How many fingers?"

"Uh…" Gray said, slightly taken aback by the sudden question, "Five?"

"Good, you can't see," she smirked before gently leading him into the dining room. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," the half naked boy said with a shrug, waiting for the black cloth to be removed, but even before the cloth left his eyes, he knew what he was about to see from the mere aroma. Of course, being able to see the food he knew was there would make it that much better. Marrissa lifted herself onto her tiptoes, removing the blindfold, allowing Gray to see his breakfast spread upon the table.

"Baked corn, fresh bread, eggs, chocolate deserts; who died?" he asked with a laugh, hugging the blond girl's head to his chest.

"I did while making this. I can't even count how many times I burned myself…"

"Wait, you came and got my at the Inn at six," he mumbled, pushing away from her. "How early did you get up to make this?"

"I didn't go to bed," she grinned sheepishly, shrugging. "I wanted to make sure I would have time to fix any mistakes I made."

Gray gave her a dumbfounded look before sighing and smiling, shaking his head. "Sometimes Marrissa Fray, sometimes…"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I haven't exactly made up my mind yet," he smirked, ruffling her blonde head. "But for now, let's eat. After a horse ride like that, I would've puked out my insides since I haven't eaten since lunch time yesterday."

**xXxXx**

"Marrissa, you are too much," Gray grinned, leaning back in his chair, hand on his stomach. "You should become my personal chef; I'll even pay you."

Marry laughed and shook her head as she began clearing the table, "Not a chance. I went through hell to make this," she smirked.

Gray just stood, chuckling as he stretched. "Next time you drag me here on my day off, you should let me sleep in a bit though."

The farmer just scoffed, giving him a "look", though it was no where near serious with her playful grin that seemed to be plastered to her lips. "Seriously, I should be the one complaining. I feel like I'm about to fall asleep right now and here."

"Touché," he laughed. "Well, what now?"

"I still haven't finished with you. I made you get hurt, and I'm gonna do something for you that I've never done for anyone else…"

Gray blushed as very perverted scenes ran through his mind. "Uh, M-Marry, I don't think we should do that. I-I mean, we haven't even kissed yet…"

Marrissa just furrowed her brows in confusion. "What are you talking about? I meant I was gonna draw you; I've never drawn another person for a gift before. I think Bella and Ace are the only ones who have seen even a bit of my art."

Gray's face brightened even more, but this time from utter embarrassment. "F-f-forget I said anything," he mumbled, averting his eyes from looking at her before realizing she said she wanted to draw him. "You want to draw me? Why? I'm not much to look at…"

"Gray, look in the mirror sometime," she smirked, walking into her room, pulling out a large pad of paper along with a pencil and a pen. "You're more than good looking." With that, Gray stood there, face bright from the compliment, causing Marry to have to grab his wrist and drag him around once more.

This time, she brought him outside, allowing him to skip riding on Shadow this time. Then again, there wasn't much point since the water fall wasn't too far from her home.

"You, sit here," the blonde commanded once they arrived, sitting Gray on a large, smooth boulder, the thundering waterfall behind him, the mist, waterfall itself, and lush trees making a perfect backdrop.

The boy followed the girl's commence, letting her sit him down on the over sized stone, watching her with wondering, sapphire eyes as she stepped back a few paces, sitting on a boulder that mirrored the one he was seated on. Marrissa then began sketching quickly with steady hands, glancing up every so often so check a detail or two.

After about half an hour of this, the farmer had completed the sketch, and was now inking the portrait. "Marrissa…" Gray said in a complaining tone, "I know you're into this, but can I walk around for a bit? My neck, shoulders and ass are dying from being in the same position for so long…"

"Just wait… I have to finish a few more lines…" she mumbled, causing the reddish-brown haired boy to sigh in annoyance. The next few minutes contained Gray's body screaming in pain, and his mind going over the events of the day. "There!" Marrissa exclaimed, putting her drawing utensils down, bringing Gray out of la-la-land.

Gray stood, his stiff muscles sighing in relief of being used once more. He walked over slowly, trying to awaken his sleeping legs. The boy glanced over Marrissa's shoulders, eyes widening slightly as the piece of art made for him. "No way… _You _drew this Marry?" he asked, pointing at her dumbstruck.

"No Gray, I bought this picture off of E-bay," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

That brought a smirk to his face as he took the paper from her hands. "Well, whoever you bought this from must have been stalking me or something. And might I say, I look pretty damn sexy, don't you think? Really, I can see a girl hanging this in their room and mas-"

"Don't say it," the farmer laughed, holding a hand up for him to stop mid-sentence, sliding down the surface of the boulder until she sat on the grass, staring at the waterfall in awe.

Gray sat beside her, staring at the scenery as well, yawning slightly. Before either of them knew what was going on, Marrissa was asleep, her head resting on Gray's shoulder, Gray using the girl's head as his pillow.

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**A/n:**** Yeah, yeah, sucky ending, I know. But I really wanted to get this chapter in tonight so Bella and Sarah couldn't bitch at me about not updating like I said I would xD**

**Ahhh, I love Gray, he's seriously one of my favourite bachelors in the Harvest Moon series. Along with Skye, Gill, Chase, Luke, etc xD**

**Oh! I want you all to know that by the end of the next chapter, I'm closing up the current "Who should Marrissa end up with" poll, and replacing it with another, but with fewer choices. I'm taking the top five from the current poll and using them for the choices, so that means the bachelor choices is literally being sliced in half.**

**Hmmm, not too much else really…. I hope you liked this chapter though, and remember; there's no harm in sending in a reviewxD I love knowing how to improve my writing! Till next time then!**


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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"Den-n-ny" Marrissa said in a complaining tone as she poked his cheek from a crouching position beside him. "I'm bored."

Sighing, the fisherman turned his head from the water to look at her, slightly blushing as she continued poking him. "Then find something to do."

"Like what?"

"Well… You could go exploring?" he suggested with a shrug, reeling in his fishing line, only to get a small fish. "Damn, they just aren't biting today…"

"I went exploring in the forest two days ago with Chase, Bo and Bella, and ended up being up in the trees for a while because I triggered some animal trap…" she admitted, blushing slightly. The whole thing wasn't embarrassing at the time, but now saying it out loud? Well, those are two totally different stories.

"You know, I'm not even gonna ask how you managed that," he laughed, shaking his head. "Well, you could go fishing with me."

"Don't you remember last time I tried fishing?" she asked, grinning widely at the memory from only a few days prior.

"Yeah, but Kai was helping you fish then," Denny replied, his chestnut curls bouncing when he laughed.

"… True enough," Marry said, nodding in agreement. "So you're saying that if you help me, I'll catch a fish instead of a Denny?"

"Yup," he grinned, but really, he was thinking _"You've already caught me anyways…And I don't mean when you were fishing…"_

The girl clapped her hands together and nodded, lips turned at the corners to make a smile. She stood, grabbing on Denny's arm and almost making them both tumble into the water. "Let's go to the ocean. There're more fish out there than in this puny little lake."

Shrugging, Denny let the girl pull him up. He picked up all his fishing equipment, let loose the small fish he had caught, and walked towards the beach with Marry, both caught in a conversation about something or other.

**xXxXx**

"Okay, so I hold it like this right?" Marrissa asked, glancing up into Denny's chocolate brown eyes.

"Close, but not quite." The boy just grinned and put his arms around the girl to show her how he always held his fishing rod.

"You really do love fishing, don't ya Denny?" Marrissa asked, casting her fishing line over the side of Denny's boat. The fish weren't catching well at the shore, so the pair had decided on taking the fisherman's boat and going into the deeper water. The fish weren't biting much still, but they were still quite large compared to the ones they had been catching earlier in the day.

The boy smiled slightly and nodded, taking his seat by the farmer and casting his line as well. "Yup. It's been my passion for as long as I can remember. My father used to take me out all the time on his ship when I was a kid."

"Yeah. My dad used to take me out fishing when I was younger too. Before the_ incident,_ I mean." The blonde sighed as she stared out into the shining water, watching the bobber go up and down with the waves.

Denny scooted his chair closer beside Marrissa, taking her head and letting it rest on his chest as he ran his fingers through her golden strands. "I know what its like," he said, removing his hand from her head only long enough to reel in his line. Marrissa mimicked his actions, and then they went back into a silence, Denny running his hand through her hair, his head resting on hers.

"… Denny, I never realized, but I know almost nothing about you," Marry said, breaking the delicate silence. The boy smiled slightly as he turned his head to look at her.

"You never asked," he said simply with a shrug. "Actually, Kai is probably the only person who knows me better than myself. We've been friends for as long as I can remember."

"So you two are best friends that look like twins?" the blonde questioned with a giggle.

Denny sighed and nodded. "Pretty much. It's kind of a pain that everyone calls us twins and what not."

"I think it's cute that you two look alike. And really, I don't see the problem; you two are practically brothers anyways right?"

The tanned boy thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I never really thought about it that way," he admitted. But you know, you're right actually. He's like the brother I never had."

"Do you have any sisters?" she asked, looking up at his face, her head still resting on his chest.

In notice of the fact she hadn't moved away, the fisherman blushed and just nodded, not trusting his voice then. After a moment, he decided his voice wouldn't sound too strange if he spoke. "Yeah, two older ones. Sabrina and Daniela. Both are older than me by seven years."

"Sabrina and Daniela huh? I would love to meet them someday," Marrissa said, placing her head back in its previous position so she could stare out at the ocean and the sun that was now beginning to set.

Denny was silent for a few moments, and when Marrissa was about to ask what was wrong, he stared out at the sunset. "I would love for you to meet them, but it's kind of impossible." Glancing down at the farmer's face, he knew she was about to ask what he meant, so he explained before she could get anything in. "They passed away on the same cruise that took your parents. My mom became depressed from her precious girls dying, so she ended up starving herself to death. All of them passing so close to one another made my dad ill. Within the next year, the illness took him over." Once he finished, the boy's voice shook hard, almost choking on the words as a single tear slid down his cheek.

The blonde girl sat up, pushing away from his chest in silence, only to sit on her knees on the chair, and then wrap her arms around his neck. Marrissa rubbed his back as she held him, her face buried in his curly brown locks. As hard as she attempted to keep them back, a few silent tears strayed down her cheeks from both the sadness of remembering her loss, along with hearing of Denny's loss and from finally finding someone who knew what it was like.

Just then, Popper, Denny's strange little bird that was usually perched on his shoulder started nipping and tugging at Denny's pants. "Denny! Denny! Strom coming!" the little creature warned, completely breaking the whole mood the farmer and fisherman had been in.

Sighing in slight annoyance, the boy pushed away from Marrissa, rubbing at his cheeks. "Goddess, sorry about this Marry… I must seem so un-cool having that emotional break-down randomly…"

Marry smiled and shook her head, wiping the tears from her own eyes. "I-it's okay…" The girl then looked out toward the sky, and yes, there were indeed large clouds looming over head, threatening to shatter and let the tears of the sky to fall through at any moment.

"That doesn't look good…" he muttered, walking to the other side of the boat to start the motor. On the third pull, the engine started purring, and in no time, the "ship" took off towards land. Only having made it three quarters of the way to the Valley, the clouds finally tore, water spraying down heavily, the waves becoming harsher by the second.

"Marrissa!" Denny called over the screaming winds. As the girl glanced up, barely hearing her friend's voice, she squinted through the rain to see him waving her over to him. The girl nodded, and got on her hands and knees, crawling towards him. Just as she reached a hand out to grab his pants, a sudden trash of wind sent her tumbling over the side of the boat. "Marrissa!" the boy yelled again, going to the side of the boat that she had disappeared from. His eyes were frantic, but finally, he saw a dark shadow of the girl. "Popper, the boat is your responsibility!"

The curly haired man dived into the water, swimming down and squinting through the water until he came upon the blonde farmer. He reached out, scooping her into his arms and swimming back to the surface, panting harshly. He squinted through the rain, looking for his precious boat, spotting it a few meters behind him. Denny swam against the waves, only using on arm, using the other to keep a tight grip on the unconscious farmer. What were only the few moments to get to the steel ship felt like millenniums. Finally, he reached the ship, pushing the limp girl over the side into the boat. Using weak arms, he used the last of his strength to pull himself over the side of the boat, panting harshly once her rolled onto the floor.

"Popper," he said weakly. "Get the boat to the island ASAP."

"Got it! Got it!" the bird chirped, using it's beak to pull the wire to start up the engine and to control the boat's direction.

Denny crawled over to the still body of the blonde. Putting his fingers to her neck, he felt a weak pulse, but could tell she couldn't breathe. The boy pressed on her chest, trying to get the water out of her lungs. When she finally coughed out the liquid, the boy pinched her nose and breathed into her mouth. He would have time to be embarrassed later; now it was purely business. The fisherman continued going through the procedure of CPR until Marrissa was finally breathing normally and her eyes started to open as he pulled his mouth away.

"Denny…?" she whispered, coughing. "What happened?"

He just grabbed her and hugged her tightly before explaining the events of the past ten, perhaps fifteen minutes. Finally, the boat reached shore, and the clouds stayed far away, over the deep parts of the ocean.

The fisherman picked up Marrissa, causing both of them to blush brightly. "D-Denny?" Marrissa asked as she was scooped into his arms. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Carrying you home. I highly doubt you have the energy to get there on your own," he explained as he started walking towards the Starry Falls district.

"I can walk you know…" she mumbled, wrapping her arms around his necks to prevent her falling onto the pavement.

"Good for you," he smirked. "But it gives me the excuse to carry you home."

**xXxXx**

Marrissa lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, sleep unable to take her mind. Sighing, she tossed and turned, though no position would make her sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

Really, her mind was too filled with thoughts of the day at sea along with the scenes from the forest with the wizard and witch. First, the thought of Denny rolled through her mind, but was soon put aside as she thought about what Gale had told her. The memory of him telling her she wasn't human played in slow motion through her mind.

"That's it," she muttered, kicking her blankets off, walking into the kitchen to get some hot cocoa. Sighing, the blonde walked over to her window, staring into the night sky, noticing the breeze that came through the open space, only a moment to late. "I could've sworn that was closed bef-"

Marrissa's eyes widened as something covered her mouth. The girl's screams were muffled by whatever covered her mouth, and before she knew it, any thought of pulling away the cover dispersed as she felt a rope tie her wrists together.

The farmer started thrashing her body, trying to get away from whoever had the hold on her, only to freeze when a vaguely familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Shush now," it said, slightly seductively. "You'll understand everything soon enough. For now sleep."

The last thing Marry saw was a rose, the pale blue colour of the sky. Then everything went black.

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**A/n:**** To be honest, the last scene was actually going to be the first, but it was so cliff hanger-ish that I couldn't resist xD So since I wanted that to be the last scene, I asked my friend who should be in this chapter instead, and she said Denny, so here you have it. I was basically just writing it as I went ;D **

**Oh well, it turned out… Decent. I think. The ending for the Denny scene wasn't amazing, but I'm tired and multi-tasking, so shut up ;d I actually wrote the whole part about Denny's family before I went to the IGN FAQ to see what his bird's name was, since I knew it said during one of his heart events, and then I remembered in the game, he said his family died when he was youngxD Btw, Denny is two years older than Marrissa, so he was thirteen when he lost his family while Marry was only eleven.**

**By the way, the new poll for Marry is up. The finalists are Skye, Gray, Chase, Gill, Vaughn and Denny. You can vote up to three of them, so do that soon! Cookies to whoever votes! xD**

**Hmm… I think that's it for now. Anywho, I hope to see you all in Chapter 10 of A Hint of Magic. Until then, ciao!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary: "What if… What is there was a force of some sort… Some sort of potion that allowed your deepest desires to come true."**

**Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Harvest Moon**

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Marrissa slowly started opening her eyes, wincing as a harsh light blared above. She shut her eyes tight, finally realizing her wrists were still tied together with a coarse rope, feeling the same thing around her ankles. The only improvement was she was no longer gagged. She opened her eyes once more, eyes hurting from the harsh light as she looked around the room.

White was everywhere. From the walls, to the carpet, to the fluffy bed and bedding she lay on, to the small night stand table and lamp to her right; not a single thing was but the purest white colour. Marrissa felt slightly out of place with her slightly sun-tanned skin, emerald eyes, golden hair and large, black night shirt. Basically sinking in the bed, she started struggling against her restraints so she could actually sit up and walk around, but seemed to be failing.

"Struggling will only make it worse. It's nearly impossible to get out of those knots. After all, they were tied by a master," a voice said. Marry turned her head in the direction of the sound, only seeing a dark silhouette of a person in the door way. As the person stepped inside, she glared at the silver hair, pale skin and light turquoise eyes she had met only a few days before.

"Skye," she hissed, freezing in the middle of her attempts to free herself from the ropes. "I thought you said you were going to leave me alone."

"Ah, you are mistaken my princess. I said, quote, 'I will leave you alone. For a while at least'," he said, grinning slightly, sweeping his arm under the girl's legs to allow her to actually be in a formal Japanese sitting position, her hands tied together and in her lap.

The girl blushed slightly at the fact he could pick her up with so much ease, but continued glaring at him, now slightly intensified due to the fact he made her cheeks tint pink. "Whatever. What do you want 'Phantom Thief'?" she asked, saying his title with venom.

"To marry you," he replied bluntly, giving her a straight face.

Marrissa just stared at him in disbelief before she started laughing. "Real funny Skye," she growled, serious once more. "Seriously, what do you want with me?"

"I told you, I want to marry you," he said, walking over to a window that let in the bright sunlight, sliding the glass up to let a light breeze in. "Well, more so I have to marry you."

"Oh _really now_? And why is that?"

"Rules," he replied, glancing over at the girl who sat on the bed, her mouth a gap. "It's customary to marry anyone, whether they be male or female, if they make you break a rule."

"And just what '_rules_' did I break?"

"None, you're just cute," he smirked, laughing at the girl's glare and enhanced blush. "I'm kidding. Sort of. You are cute, but you broke three rules," Skye said, walking back over to the bed. "For one, you prevented me from stealing something I left a note for. Second, you embarrassed me; okay that isn't really a rule, but still. And third…" He paused, grabbing the girl's chin and pulling her face close to his so his lips brushed her lips as he spoke, "You stole something from a thief."

"Oh really now?" she growled, face radiating heat as her lips had to brush his if she were to speak; his hold on her chin took away any chance of turning her head, or moving her face back. "What on Earth could I have stolen from you?"

Skye just grinned slightly, moving his mouth the extra few millimeters so they touched hers gently. "You stole my lips," he whispered, pulling back only a fraction so he could speak.

Frozen for a moment, Marrissa sat there in utter shock from the sudden meeting of the man's lips. Noting he wasn't moving any farther and could take her lips at any time once more, the girl re-gained her senses, thrusting her fists upward until they connected with his jaws.

The thief stumbled back slightly, eyes wide as he brought a hand up to hold his jaw that stung the worst. "What the hell was_ that_ for?"

The farmer just continued glaring at the man, willing herself to stop blushing but failing terribly. "Ever thought of the fact you stole _my_ first kiss too?"

"First kiss? Who said anything about a first kiss? I've kissed plenty of women before, all quite pleased with the kisses. I just said you stole my lips, meaning you kissed me without my permission."

"You came into my house without my permission."

"… Touché…" he said, nodding slightly. "But I _am _a thief, and what thief asks for permission to enter when they're going to steal something?"

"Oh shut up," she growled, glaring at him. "Now untie me and let me get home already! I have work to do!"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I found some little… Helpers to do your work for you," he grinned, referring to the perfect, imp-like slaves. Yes, Harvest Sprites; how did you know? It's not like there's a farming simulation game where you can get your character to order around the squirts to do your bidding whenever you want.

"But… But what about-" Marrissa's words were interrupted by the silver haired man placing his hand over her mouth.

"Shush now," he commanded, removing his hand and walking towards the door. "You have to get ready for the ceremony."

"Ceremony…? What _ceremony_?"

Skye just sighed and crossed his arms. "How many times must I tell you, fair maiden? The wedding ceremony of course! I'll have some servants in to help you prepare."

"Servants…?" she questioned, eyes slightly wide. "You're a thief, yet you're rich enough to get servants?"

"Don't pry. You'll understand in due time." With that, the beautiful man slipped through the door, closing it behind him.

Marrissa sat there in the sudden silence, not knowing what to think at this time. "Married. I'm getting married. At seventeen. To a guy whom I barely know… Though, he is quite good on the eyes… No! That's not the point! Arg!" she complained to herself, falling back onto the bed and turning over so she could talk into the white pillow. "What the hell is the Harvest Goddess thinking?"

Just then, a knock came from the door, averting Marry's attention from the matter at hand. A moment after the knock, a woman with porcelain for skin, with large, deep-teal eyes and hair so blonde it was almost white. "You must be Marrissa," she said, smiling to the farmer politely, gracefully striding into the room. The woman held her hand out to take the speechless girl's hands and help her up into a sitting position. "I see my dear brother found yet another victim," she sighed, shaking her head before taking a blade from the breast of her shirt, its silver blade obviously sharp and shining in the light. Its hilt was made of gold with rubies so crimson they could have been made of blood.

Marrissa was silent since the woman had entered, examining carefully every detail of the woman and blade as it sliced through her restraints. Just as the woman was finishing cutting the ropes from her ankles, her eyes widened as the woman's words finally registered. "Wait, _brother_?" said in pure shock, causing the pale woman to jump slightly.

"Ah, yes. Skye is my older brother." The woman stood, re-sheathing the blade in some kind of custom holder. "I'm Solaria by the way."

"Skye and Solaria huh?" she asked, rubbing her reddened, rope-imprinted wrists, ignoring her ankles for the time being. "You're names totally fit the name of the Valley and the districts," she grinned.

Solaria smiled and giggled lightly, nodding as she stood, holding her hand out to the farmer. "So very true. But now, it's time for you to get some proper lady lessons."

"Proper lady lessons? Who said I needed that? And why would I need that?"

"I did just now," the pale blonde replied. "And for two reasons. One, the wife-to-be of a rich heir should have manners and behave like a proper woman correct? Two, I could tell you needed them upon entering this room and seeing your posture along with the way you speak."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did I just hear the 'Skye' in the same sentence as 'rich' and heir? The why if he a thief?"

Solaria quickly covered Marrissa's mouth with her hand. "Don't speak of my brother's… Occupation unless you're sure no one can hear. The only ones who know of his profession are you and I along with him obviously as well as those he has come across whilst stealing from them…"

Emerald eyes held a certain annoyance of having her mouth covered; again. Really, too many times her lips have been covered by gags, hands and lips. At the last part of the thought, Marrissa blushed, literally shaking her head to get the thought out. "Okay, I won't say anything about it…" she said slightly uncertainly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Skye's sister let out a sigh of relief along with a small smile. "Thanks. Now, to teach you how to be a proper, sophisticated woman."

Sighing, Marrissa nodded reluctantly, but allowed Solaria to drag her out of the white room. The halls and seemingly all the rooms seemed to match; pure, fluffy cloud white. The only things that added colour were the few expensive ornaments and portraits spread throughout the grand building.

"Where are we anyways?" the farmer asked, looking around at all the exquisite decorations. "This place is so big; no way could someone have overlooked it…"

"Yes, no one could have _over _looked it," the woman grinned, her dark eyes holding in meek amusement. "Our home rests over the Starry Falls; no on can see over the waterfall, so it's absolutely perfect; plus it's the highest point on Raynebow Valley besides the mountains."

"But wouldn't someone see it from a distance?"

"For one, how many people go looking for buildings above waterfalls? And second, we considered that which is why we aren't right on the edge of the cliff."

Marrissa nodded slightly, not sure exactly what to say. "That's… Strange? But why don't I see anyone from here down in the town? Don't you have to buy food and whatnot?"

"Yes, we do. Well, I do along with some of the maids. Though we usually disguise our appearance. I don't exactly know why, but Father ordered us to for whatever reason. But that is enough about that; we have some lessons to get to."

Sighing, she nodded and followed Solaria into a grand room. A table as long as the room Marrissa woke up in. Along the large table, chairs streamed along, all made of some kind of white wood with satin cushions. At the far ends of the table, two larger chairs, one only a tab bigger than the other sat, assumingly the larger one for Skye and Solaria's father, the slightly smaller one for his lady.

On the wall behind the larger chair, a huge portrait that took most of the wall sat of a man, woman and two children. The man sat proudly in a crimson cushioned chair, a golden frame with rubies trapped among the carving in the seat. His hair was dark and slicked to the side, a few grey hairs showing here and there. He wore a fancy black suit, complete with a poofy red tie; much like the one Gray wore for his work attire. The woman stood slightly behind the man's chair, a small smile on her pale face. Her hair was the same gold as Marrissa's, her eyes a light sky blue, her dress a black strapless, slit on one side. She wore high heels, a silver anklet around her left ankle, along with a pearl necklace and earrings. To either side of the couple were the kids, most likely their children. The girl who stood beside her mother had a large smile, dark eyes burning against the paleness of her skin and hair. She wore a fancy red and white, frilly dress that hung to her knees, white stockings and black Mary Jane shoes. Her white hair was curled in ringlets, the hair that would have framed her face pulled back and held by a crimson ribbon. The boy, who stood beside the proud man's chair, had dark hair, slicked to the side with what must have been a ton of hair gel, his light blue eyes matching his mother's, but unreadable. He wore a child's suit, the legs cut off at his knees, the jacket ending just below his hips. A ribbon held the collar of his white dress shirt together. _"I feel like I met him when I was younger…" _she thought, gazing at the little boy.

"That's a family portrait from when we were younger," a voice explained from behind Marrissa, bringing her out of her trance.

She looked up, scowling slightly as she realized it was Skye. "What now Skye?" she asked, taking a slight notice in his change of clothes. He was wearing something similar to what his father wore in the portrait; a white satin shirt covered with a black vest and jackets, slacks and shining shoes to match, but rather than a red poofy tie, the thief's was a light cyan, a few shades darker than his eyes. His shoulder length hair was pulled back in a loose, but distinguished low pony-tail. It was much different than the leopard print shirt, purple pants and dog-tag necklace he wore the first time they met.

"That is no way for a lady to speak lovely," he said, giving a sweet smile that literally shined, but his eyes showed a deep smirk. Marrissa glared, her hands in small fists, her shoulder's hunched as she glared at the man. "My, you really do need these lessons," he teased before holding his arm out for her to take. When she just looked at it and stuck her tongue out, Skye sighed, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his elbow, holding it in place as he walked her over to the slightly smaller chair.

The girl was tempted to smack his hand away or drag her heels, but thought better of it. "Um, is it alright that I walk around this maze wearing only an over-sized t-shirt?" she asked as the man held out her chair so she could take a seat. Sitting, the girl sighed slightly, putting her hands in her lap.

"It's fine as long as you don't feel strange, my dear fiancée," he grinned, pecking the top of her head before pushing the chair in, barely dodging her arm that jerked upward in attempts to connect with his jaw; again. "Ah, ah, ah. Ladies don't punch, slap or any of those things when they're mad." Oh, Skye was enjoying this. He was enjoying this _a lot_.

Marrissa tensed up, not bothering to bitch about being called his "fiancée". Though she would agree to take the lessons, she would still refuse to marry him if it was the last thing she did. "Where did Solaria go?" she asked, changing the subject when she noticed the girl was no longer in the dining room.

Skye glanced around, finally registering the fact that his sister was no longer there. "She probably went to prepare some food. You need proper table manners for when we go to parties, or hold parties of our own."

The blonde rolled her eyes at this and sighed, staring at the little boy in the portrait. "Skye, what happened to your hair?" she asked, glancing up at the silver haired man. "It's black in the picture, but now it silver… Did you dye it or something?"

"It changed as I got older; it's something that tended to happen on my mother's side to any most male's born with dark hair; through the younger teenage years, it changed into a lighter colour. Usually blonde, or a light brunette. We weren't too sure about why mine turned out silver," he explained, subconsciously touching his hair. "If I had dyed it, Father and Solaria probably would have killed me by now…"

"And your mother wouldn't?" she asked, turning her head to look at his face.

The question made Skye's face drop slightly before he sighed. "She died two years ago. An illness took her," he explained, pushing off the chair with his arms, halting at Marrissa touched it without a second thought.

"Ah, s-sorry," she said, blushing lightly as she realized she had stopped him. "But I know what it's like. I lost my parents seven years ago when I was eleven," she explained, frowning slightly.

"So you're eighteen?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Perfect age; you won't have to ask for consent to marry me then~"

"Actually," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I'm only seventeen currently. I'll be eighteen in a week and a half."

"Dammit!" he growled yanking his arm away none too gently. "Marrissa, you have to learn the high-society etiquette, and on the day of your eighteenth birthday, you have to marry me."

"Uh, excuse me? I never agreed to marry you!" she retorted, glaring at him once more.

"I didn't ask Marrissa," Skye said simply, turning his back as he began striding across the room. Just as he was about to walk through the large arch and turn the corner, he paused and looked over to the farmer. "I'm begging."

And with that, he left, Solaria coming in with a tray, giving her brother a strange look as they passed one another. "What's wrong with Brother?" she asked as she neared Marrissa who just shrugged.

"I'm not exactly sure…" she replied, staring through the arch that Skye has just left through. _"But I'm gonna find out."_

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**A/n:**** Kay, I give up. I wasn't planning on it, but I'm just gonna make this into two chapters. Really, I'm maybe… Half done with this SkyexMarry chapter. And I've just written six and half pages; if I were to continue, it would be about eleven or twelve pages if not longer… **

**You know, if I were doing a SkyexOC story, this would be an amazing plot line for it… I think I'll actually make a fanfiction expanding on this idea sometime actually ;D But really, if you think about it, it's quite original considering people usually have Skye as someone who's poor which is the reason he's a thief, but in this story, he's a wealthy man, heir to the family actually who steals from other's for an unknown reason. Well, unknown for a while at leastxD But seriously, if I see anyone taking this idea without my permission, Misty will not be impressed one bit…**

**ANYWHO, I just wanted to remind everyone to vote on the new poll for who you want Marrissa to end up with. So far, the rankings are Skye, Chase and Vaughn in first with three votes each, Gray and Gill in second with two votes, and Denny in third with only one vote to his name.**

**Well, that's it for now. Hope to see ya next time!**


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